LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (Sept. 12, 2026) – The Thomas Jefferson University women's volleyball team put together two wins in three matches at this weekend's Lock Haven Invitational, giving them seven wins in 10 preseason invitational matches heading into the CACC slate.
All three matches in Lock Haven went to five sets, giving the Rams an opportunity to showcase and test their resiliency before the conference schedule kicks in.
Friday Game 1: Jefferson 3, Edinboro 2
As a collective whole, Jefferson saw its peaks and valleys in the first five-setter of the weekend against Edinboro. The Rams' third set was one of the bet of the season so far, with the team picking up kills on 20 out of a possible 25 points. Senior outside hitter
Emily McKenna (Drexel Hill, Pa. / Sacred Heart Academy) returned to the lineup after getting the night off against Lincoln University on Wednesday and responded with a team-high 15 kills over five sets. Junior
Alexa Mork (West Chester, Pa. / West Chester East / Towson University), also returning to the lineup, was one of three Rams to double-double in the first game of Friday's two-match slate. She had 11 kills and 13 digs, while freshman setter
Lyllah Sapp (Bakersfield, Calif. / Frontier) stuffed the stat sheet with 40 assists and 11 digs.
Sophomore libero
Kate Hines (Newark, Del. / Delaware Military Academy) had a team-high 17 digs to go with a trio of service aces. To capture the deciding set, the Rams recovered from a slow start in the fourth to open the final frame on a 13-6 run, a hole that proved insurmountable for Edinboro to dig out of.
Friday Game 2: Jefferson 3, Virginia State 2
The Rams proved lightning could strike twice against a tough Virginia State University team. This time, the Rams received more concentrated contributions in attacking situations, with three players exceeding 13 kills. McKenna matched her Game 1 total with 15, Mork improved to 13, while sophomore
Gabby Titus (Williamstown, N.J. / Williamstown) broke out with 14 kills. However, the second match of the day proved even more grueling than the first with the Rams this time finding themselves in a 2-1 hole to dig out of.
While Virginia State came up empty with zero services aces, the Rams would, however, have to contend with a really tough Trojans team at the net that totaled nine blocks throughout the five sets. The fourth set did prove to be a turning point for Jefferson, starting the match on a 12-4 run that put them in prime position to force a fifth set. They got it done on the serve of Mork, and from there, the Rams went on to win a close fifth set largely controlled by the Trojans.
No greater than two points separated the two teams at any point, but the Rams did not lead until going up 14-13 on a Virginia State attacking error. At 15-all, back-to-back kills from Mork and McKenna gave the Rams their fourth-consecutive victory and a heap of confidence heading into the final match of the weekend on Saturday.
Saturday: Lock Haven 3, Jefferson 2
The Rams would be tested in a fifth set one more time this weekend against tournament host Lock Haven University. This time, the ebbs and flows were more prevalent than even the Virginia State match, with Lock Haven taking the first set 28-26 followed by a Jefferson shellacking in the ensuing frame (25-11).
McKenna led with 13 kills, but the real star of the match proved to be junior middle blocker
Pemi Areola (Kingwood, Texas / Kingwood). Areola had a perfect attacking game with 11 kills without a single error, and got involved on eight blocks: four solo, four assisted. Meanwhile, this match had some of the longest points of any match on the weekend, with the Rams picking up 83 collective digs. Hines had 24, Mork had 19, and McKenna 15 to earn her first double-double of the weekend.
Sets three and four were decisively Jefferson and Lock Haven sets, setting the stage for a fifth set entirely up for grabs. With 14 sets in three matches in the rear view mirror, the Rams finally ran out of gas but not before freshman setter Sapp reached 35 assists, totaling 109 on the weekend.
Head Coach Eric Shaefer and the Rams will turn their attention toward CACC play on Tuesday, Sept. 15. They will host Georgian Court University in the conference opener with things scheduled to get underway at 6 p.m.
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