The Fordham women’s volleyball team ended a disappointing 2011 campaign as the Rams failed to qualify for the Atlantic-10 (A-10) playoffs.

The Rams tied for eighth in the ten-team conference with a 4-11 record, and the team’s overall record was a just as dismal at 7-23.

The main issue facing this Rams squad was a lack of experience. After losing six seniors to graduation, the team had to revamp its core.

“Going into this season we knew it was going to be a rebuilding year for us,” Coach Peter Volkert said. “The only returning starter from last year was Brittany Daulton, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’12. “We pretty much put a brand new team on the floor. We had 18 players and 16 of them were in their first or second year of play.”

However, the younger players were not the only ones who had to adapt this season. “We put in a new offense this year and we did different things on defense as well,” Volkert said. “So our returning players had to learn as well.”

With so many variables, the Rams were hard pressed to perform well in a competitive A-10 conference. Dayton, who won the conference title for a third straight season, is a consistent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 team. Xavier and Saint Louis, the second and third ranked teams in the A-10, also received Top 25 votes this season.

Despite the steep competition and a dreadful record, the Rams did display flashes of brilliance. “We have really good moments that wont always show in a record,” Randi Ewing, FCRH ’12, said. “We had a lot of close games and a lot of games that went to five sets.”

The Rams had five such games this season in which they lost in the fifth set and even more disheartening, three of these were home conference games. The Rams had match point in their conference matchups against Duquesne and Charlotte and were within two points of beating conference rival George Washington.

“Taking care of our home games is the difference between making the playoffs and not making playoffs,” Volkert said. “Those were four points in three conference games. We also had another conference game where there was a game point we thought we won, but there was a call against us. We stepped back on the court and lost two minutes later. So we’re four points and a controversial call away from winning four conference games and then we’re certainly in the playoffs.”

Amidst the many five-set heartbreakers, the Rams did have one five-set stunner. In their October 28th game with Saint Louis, the Rams beat the Billikens for the first time in ten meetings. “That was huge,” Ewing said. “It was the highlight of the season to be the first to beat them in school history. It was at a point in the season when every game counted if we were to make the A-10 playoffs. It was a huge pick me up and huge deal to us to get that win.”

Another bright spot for the Rams this season was the team’s blocking ability as the Rams finished third in the conference in blocking. “This was the best blocking team in the history of Fordham,” Volkert said. “Previous years we weren’t even close. It was a big emphasis of ours to try and coordinate the blocking.”

At the season’s end Daulton and Ewing were named to Cobra Magazine’s All Northeast Region Team. Ewing was one of 15 members of the All Northeast Region Team and Daulton was one of six honorable mentions. The magazine highlights players of African descent in an effort to inspire others to pick up the sports. The two were deserving after having great career years. Ewing posted a career high 125 blocks, the fourth highest total in team history, while Daulton posted career highs in kills (297), digs (270), and blocks (44).

Krissy Buongiorno’s, FCRH ’14, performance this year was also recognized as she was named to A-10 Volleyball All-Rookie Team. The sophomore middle blocker had a great season after missing the entire 2010 season due to injury. “Krissy was definitely our comeback player,” Ewing said. “She came back from injury and played her heart out.” Buongiorno was seventh in the conference in blocking, averaging 1.01 blocks per game, before suffering another season ending injury with six games remaining.

With all but three players returning to the squad next season, the Rams will have a team that is much more ready to fight for a spot in the A-10 playoffs. “We have a bright and promising future even though we didn’t have a lot of wins this year,” Volkert said. “We certainly gained a lot of experience and its only going to make us better.”