KINGSTON, R.I. (U-WIRE) -- The second five-set loss in as many matches put the University of Rhode Island's volleyball team into a tie with Duquesne for fifth place in the Atlantic 10.

The Rams (8-12, 3-5) comeback attempt Friday night was cut short after Fordham battled back from 8-10 in the fifth set to beat the Rams 30-21, 35-33, 27-30, 25-30, and 15-12.

Last week the Rams went up 2-0 on the University of Connecticut but dropped the last three sets, including the fifth set where Rhody needed just two points to win but gave up four straight points to assure UConn's win.

"I think Fordham played a good match," URI head coach Bob Schneck. "But I do think we're a better team and have more talent than [Fordham]."

Fordham came out strong and won the first set 30-21 while holding URI to an attack percentage of just .025. The Rams showed their guts in the second set when Fordham was leading 28-25. After back-to-back kills by senior Abby Thornbladh and an error by Fordham's Cassie Sharp, URI tied up the set at 28-28. The two teams would swap the next 10 points before back-to-back blocks were recorded by the Fordham duo of Sharp and Tiffany Pedersen to win the game.

The Rams bounced back beautifully in the next game and didn't lose the lead the entire set after a kill by senior Kaleena Miller made it 10-9.

The fourth game went even more smoothly for the Rams. After a service ace by freshman Chelsea Wisz made it 4-3, Fordham wouldn't hold the lead again in the set.

This tied the match up at 2-2 and forced a 15-point fifth set.

The deciding set went back-and-forth in the beginning. Then with Fordham down 11-9, Jamee Stimson put her team ahead with consecutive kills to put her team back up 12-11. Three of the next four points would go Fordham's way and give the Rams another heart-breaking loss.

"It's disappointing," Schneck said. "I think [the close losses] go much deeper than just volleyball."

Senior Beatriz Arana led the Rams with a career-high 21 kills and 19 digs. Her 21 kills came on just 46 total attacks, which works out for an impressive percentage of .326.

Wisz racked up her second triple-double in a row as she recorded 55 assists, 13 digs and 11 kills.

Miller had 18 kills, 25 digs and six assists. Sophomore Rachel Bello, who is coming back from an illness, added 11 kills and nine digs.

"Having these two long, grueling matches in one week can only make us tougher," Schneck said.

The loss puts the Rams ahead of only LaSalle and George Washington in the A-10. They remain tied with Duquesne in the A-10, but overall Duquesne has the better record. Besides LaSalle and George Washington, Temple is the other A-10 team who has a lower winning percentage than the Rams. But because of Temple's dominate 6-1 record in the conference, they stand pat in second place. Fordham is now in soul position of the fourth and final A-10 tournament bid, with the Rams just a game back.

The Rams will hit practice hard this week and will try to turn things around. The upcoming schedule is of the utmost importance for the Rams postseason chances.

"In practice we're going to present them with game situations in which they are losing," Schneck said. "We'll work at it until it's perfect."

With just six games left before the A-10 Championships, the Rams are looking at a very difficult stretch of games to finish off the season. They will see A-10 leading Dayton this Friday at home and will play against Xavier, who is 6-2 in the A-10, on Saturday.

Friday's game will be played at 7:00 p.m. in Keaney Gymnasium.

"To be honest, I think we're more talented than any of those teams," Schneck said. "If we play our A-game, we're capable of beating anyone in the conference."

(C) 2004 The Good Five Cent Cigar via U-WIRE.