Nov. 6, 2001

KINGSTON, R.I. - Amy Kauppila pounded down a season-high 17 kills and fellow sophomore Michelle Fulton rang up a season-high .480 hitting percentage Tuesday night as Rhode Island clinched an Atlantic 10 Conference playoff berth with a 3-1 win over visiting Fordham.

The third-place Rams (15-10, 11-4) took control of a 1-1 match midway through the third game and swept to a 30-21, 28-30, 30-19, 30-22 victory, wrapping up one of the four playoff bids. They made the championship tournament for the 17th time in the 20-year history of Atlantic 10 volleyball.

League-leading Dayton and runnerup Xavier have also sewn up berths in the Nov. 16-17 tourney, which will take place at a site to be determined. Duquesne and Temple will fight it out for the final spot.

Fordham (6-18, 1-14) lost its seventh straight match and its 17th in the last 18 outings despite 13 kills from sophomore Beth Crockett and 17 digs from freshman Tiffany Pedersen. Rhode Island held junior Roxanne Hill, fourth in the league in kills, to just seven and a .000 hitting percentage (7-7-26).

Rhode Island freshman Brooke Ecklund piled up 16 kills and a team-high 17 digs for her 12th double-double of the season and her ninth in the last 11 matches. Other double-doubles came from Kauppila (17 kills, 10 digs) and senior Yolanda Bogacz (10 kills, 13 digs).

Bogacz and Fulton each made only one attack error all night, Bogacz finishing with a .360 hitting percentage (10-1-25) and Fulton with .480 (13-1-25), the second highest of her career. Meanwhile junior setter Juliana Valencia came up with 16 digs and led both teams with five service aces.

Kauppila hammered nine of her 17 kills in the first game as Rhode Island broke an 11-11 tie with six straight points and never let Fordham get within five after that. But Fordham won a nip-and-tuck second game 30-28, getting the final two points on a Rhode Island block error and a climactic kill by Pedersen.

Fordham held an 11-8 edge in the pivotal third game when Fulton keyed a 15-2 Rhode Island run, capped by seven straight points for a 23-13 lead. Fordham never mounted a another serious challenge in that game or in the fourth, in which Rhode Island charged out to a 14-7 lead.

Rhode Island hosts Duquesne Friday night (7 p.m.) in the regular-season finale with a chance to finish 9-0 at home, its first unbeaten home slate since its very first varsity season in 1975.

Fordham (6-18) 21 30 19 22 -- 1
Rhode I. (15-10) 30 28 30 30 -- 3