RADFORD, Va. – Fordham opened the Radford Invitational on Friday morning with a 3-0 victory over the Norfolk State volleyball team at the Dedmon Center.
 
The Rams hit .471 for the match, winning 25-12, 25-13, and 25-16. Fordham needed a late run to pull away from the Spartans midway through the third set to improve to 3-1.
 
NSU fell to 0-3 on the young season. The Spartans were led by junior Julisa Carrizosa with five kills.
 
Fordham led by nine early in the first set and also had a 7-1 run a little later to go up by double digits. NSU trailed by just one at 7-6 in the second set after a kill from junior Taylor Eichelberger, but the Rams used a 7-0 run to pull ahead.
 
In the third, though, the Spartans cut into the Ram lead. A couple of kills from junior Quiana Griffin followed by kills from sophomore Makenzy Johnson and junior Jannel Ezeagwu got them to within one at 11-10. They still trailed by just one at 14-13 after a kill from senior Bojana Bolozan.
 
The Rams won the next five points and then the last four points of the set for the final margin.
 
McKenna Lahr led the Rams with 12 kills, and Olivia Fairchild chipped in with 10. Kaitlin Morley also added nine kills as the trio hit a combined .588. Fordham finished with just six attack errors and held a 51-28 edge in digs.
 
NSU will play Rider at 9 a.m. on Saturday during the second day of the tournament. The Spartans will also take on Toledo at 2:30 p.m.