BRONX, N.Y. – Saint Louis volleyball battled to a five-set victory over Fordham on Friday night inside Rose Hill Gym, defeating the Rams 3-2. The Billikens improved to 9-10 overall and 4-4 in Atlantic 10 play, using a dominant fifth set to secure the road win.
SET 1 | SLU 25, FOR 21
The opening set was back and forth, with Fordham building a 14-10 advantage before the Billikens rattled off four consecutive points to tie things up. The teams continued to trade points until Saint Louis took a 21-20 lead on a kill from
Jetta Brenning. With the score tied at 21, the Billikens closed the set with four straight points, including back-to-back service aces from Brenning, to take the 25-21 win.
SET 2 | SLU 17, FOR 25
The teams traded points early before Fordham used a 7-0 run to turn a 7-7 tie into a 14-7 advantage. The Rams continued to push, extending their lead to 22-9. Saint Louis responded with five consecutive points, highlighted by two service aces from
Tamia Maddox, but the deficit was too much to overcome as Fordham took the set 25-17.
SET 3 | SLU 25, FOR 13
The Billikens bounced back in the third set, taking an early 6-3 lead before extending their advantage to 13-7 behind a pair of blocks. Saint Louis continued to build momentum, using a 6-1 run to push its lead to 21-11. The Bills closed out the set with three consecutive points, including a service ace from
Tea Kalajdzic, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
SET 4 | SLU 21, FOR 25
Fordham jumped out to a 7-1 lead to open the fourth set before the Billikens began chipping away at the deficit. Saint Louis used a 4-1 run to pull within four at 13-9 and later cut the Rams' advantage to two at 18-16. Fordham responded with a 5-1 run to take a 23-17 lead. The Billikens fought off three set points before the Rams secured the 25-21 win to force a fifth set.
SET 5 | SLU 15, FOR 5
The Billikens took control early in the deciding set, using a 4-0 run to turn a 1-1 tie into a 5-1 advantage. Back-to-back service aces from
Kayla Jansen helped Saint Louis extend its lead to 9-2. The Bills continued to roll, pushing their advantage to 12-4 before scoring the final three points of the match. A block from Kalajdzic and Jansen sealed the 15-5 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Jansen led the Billikens with a career-high 12 kills, hitting .500 while adding seven blocks and two service aces.
- Kalajdzic recorded 11 kills and six blocks, hitting .250.
- Brenning posted a double-double with 39 assists and 10 digs while adding six kills, four service aces and three blocks.
- J'La Sparks tallied eight kills on a .389 hitting percentage and added six blocks.
- Saint Louis finished with 13 service aces and 13 blocks.
- The Billikens held Fordham to a -.231 hitting percentage in the fifth set while hitting .455.
UP NEXT
Saint Louis will face Fordham again on Saturday at 1 p.m. Central.
