Volleyball Hosts 12th Annual Rose Hill Classic this Weekend

Bronx, N.Y. – The 12th annual Rose Hill Classic begins this Labor Day Weekend with the Fordham volleyball team welcoming Bryant, Charlotte, and Marist to the Rose Hill Gym. Each team will play twice on Friday and once each on Saturday. Bryant and Charlotte are set to kick things off on Friday at noon. Fordham will play Marist at 2:30 and Charlotte at 7:30. Only matches involving Fordham will be streamed online via ESPN+. Live Stats will remain the same for every match via the link above. Last Time Out The Rams grew in confidence as last weekend progressed, going from a sweep at the hands of MAC contender Eastern Michigan, taking a set off the hosts, St. John's, in the middle match, and earning their first victory of the season in four sets against Central Connecticut State. First-year head coach Ian Choi mixed and matched with his new squad, involving all four freshmen in the three matches, as several Rams notched career-high numbers and impressive performances. Six different Rams made their debuts over the weekend. Offensively, junior co-captain Kaitlin Morley led the way with 41 kills on 94 attacks, averaging 3.73 per set, and ending the weekend one dig shy of the team lead, with 43. Junior libero Morgan Williams held that distinction with 44, averaging 4.4 over her 10 sets. Sopohmore McKenna Lahr and freshman Claire O'Neil each tallied 29 kills over the weekend, the latter doing so at a .333 clip and earning the Rams' lone All-Tournament team spot. Lahr added 35 digs, as well, including a career-high 21 against St. John's. Morley also put up career-best numbers against the Red Storm, tallying 19 kills and five blocks. Freshman Joey Landeros chipped in 15 kills, senior Olivia LaPorta added 13, and Bella Ureña added nine over her first four career frames against the Blue Devils. Helping run the offense was the trio of senior Maddy Walsh, sophomore Sophia Plett, and freshman Makaela Tanaka, who combined for 124 assists, let by Plett's 59, which includes her career-high 47 against CCSU. Against St. John's, Tanaka went off for 40 assists, the most by a freshman setter since 2012. Defensively, LaPorta led the way with 14 blocks, two solo, followed by O'Neil's 10 and Morley's seven. The Rams, as a team, blocked 24 total attacks or 2.18 per set. Preseason Poll Fordham has been selected to repeat its finishes of the past two years and end this upcoming season seventh it was announced in the Atlantic 10's preseason poll voted on by the league's head coaches. The Rams garnered 36 votes. Read more about it. Up Next The Rams finish up the Rose Hill Classic against Bryant on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and will head back on the road for the Rebel Challenge next weekend, hosted by UNLV. The Rams will be the hosts at 1 p.m. ET on Friday followed by Eastern Kentucky at 8 p.m. before finishing the weekend with Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.