PHILADELPHIA - The Thomas Jefferson University volleyball team (24-6) successfully defended its CACC Championship on Sunday afternoon, defeating Bloomfield (18-8), 3-0, to repeat as conference champion. It is the third title overall in program history.
 
The Rams move on to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Jefferson is seeded fourth and will play the fifth seed, Adelphi, in the East Region quarterfinals on Thursday, November 17^th at 7:30 p.m. The East Region bracket will be played at American International.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rams grabbed the lead numerous times early in the first set but the Bears kept clawing their way back to even the score. Tied at 15, Jefferson tallied four of the next five points for a 19-16 advantage. However, Bloomfield answered with four in a row to take a 20-19 lead. Trailing by one (21-20), the Rams stunned the Bears with a 5-0 run to take the set 25-21. Jefferson received kills from Jess Molen and Morgan Ritchie, and a service ace by Gabby Semaña, while also benefitting from a pair of Bloomfield errors.
 
The Rams got out to an 8-3 lead in the second set. The Bears were only able to close the gap to three (8-5) and Jefferson was ahead by five again at 17-12. The Rams then pulled away with an 8-2 run to win the frame 25-14. Jefferson continued the momentum into the third set, scoring the first four points. However, Bloomfield rallied and was able to pull the score even at seven apiece. It was the first of nine ties in the middle of the set as the two sides went back and forth.
 
Deadlocked at 17, the Rams went in front with five of the next six points. Jefferson got to championship point, holding a 24-21 advantage, but the Bears did not go away easy, scoring four in a row to bring up their own set point. The Rams fended off the first set point but Bloomfield got another opportunity with a kill. Jefferson dug deep and got kills from Jess Molen and Jaysa Even followed by a Bears' error that gave the Rams the title with a 28-26 victory.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Jess Molen: 11 kills, 4 digs, 3 service aces, 3 blocks
Sam Mann: 9 kills, 7 blocks
Morgan Ritchie: 9 kills, 6 digs, 5 blocks
Kalen Jordan: 6 kills, 9 blocks
Kristine Guenther: 36 assists, 9 digs, 4 blocks, 3 service aces
Cameron Johnson: 18 digs
 
CACC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Jess Molen was named the CACC Tournament MVP for the second straight year. She was joined on the CACC All-Tournament Team by Morgan Ritchie, Sam Mann, Kristine Guenther, Cameron Johnson, and Kalen Jordan.
 
CACC TOP XVII AWARD
Jess Molen was the recipient of the CACC Top XVII Award for holding the highest cumulative GPA of any student-athlete competing at the final championship site.
 
NOTES
- Jess Molen recorded her 1,000^th career point.
- Jefferson is the first back-to-back champion in CACC volleyball since Post won in 2014 and 2015.
- The Rams have now won six straight matches in the CACC Tournament, outscoring opponents by an 18-4 margin with four 3-0 victories.