FOREST, Va. — The University of Lynchburg was selected fifth in the ODAC preseason poll for the 2026 campaign, as announced by the league office on Friday afternoon, Jan. 9.

Randolph-Macon earned all possible first-place votes to claim the top spot in the preseason poll. The reigning conference champions were followed by Roanoke, which finished nine points behind first place with 53 total points. Randolph College and Eastern Mennonite rounded out the top four with 42 and 38 points, respectively.

Lynchburg sits in the middle of the poll with 38 points, four behind Eastern Mennonite and three ahead of Virginia Wesleyan in sixth. Shenandoah, Bridgewater, and Averett complete the preseason rankings with 21, 15, and 10 points, respectively. Shenandoah and Bridgewater will each compete in their inaugural men’s volleyball season as the conference continues to expand.

The Hornets enter their second season of competition under first-year head coach Joshua Knapp. Lynchburg looks to build on a 9-15 (2-10 ODAC) record from a year ago. Knapp and his staff return 13 student-athletes, along with the addition of one freshman and two transfers.

The returning group is highlighted by two All-ODAC performers, opposite Nick Redding and middle Bryce Jackson. Redding earned ODAC Rookie of the Year honors and was named to the All-ODAC Second Team, while Jackson secured a spot on the All-ODAC Third Team.

 

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON POLL

1. Randolph-Macon College (8)    64 pts.

2. Roanoke College (1)    53 pts.

3. Randolph College    46 pts.

4. Eastern Mennonite University    42 pts.

5. University of Lynchburg    38 pts.

6. Virginia Wesleyan University    35 pts.

7. Shenandoah University    21 pts.

8. Bridgewater College    15 pts.

       9. Averett University    10 pts.
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–LYN–

OMAHA, Neb. — Four-time Olympic medalist and volleyball star Jordan Larson said Friday that this season will be her last on the court as a professional athlete.

The 39-year-old Larson is a co-owner and player for LOVB Nebraska, one of six founding members of League One Volleyball, which is in its second professional season. Nebraska plays its home opener Sunday, and the season finale is April 4.

“I still love the game immensely,” Jordan said. “As I’ve gotten older, there’s more pieces that come with it. I’m living on house money, every day is an absolute blessing. … It seems like the time to celebrate what volleyball is doing in the state and how we can continue to grow the sport.”

Larson, a native of Hooper, Nebraska, was captain of the U.S. National team that won its first Olympic gold medal in 2021. She was the MVP and best outside hitter in Tokyo, and her kill clinched the gold medal match.

She is one of three volleyball athletes in history with four Olympic medals, including silver medals in 2012 and 2024, and a bronze in 2016. She played four seasons at the University of Nebraska, where she was part of a Division I national championship in 2006 after being the runner-up in 2005.

League One Volleyball, branded as LOVB and pronounced “LOVE,” made its debut last year after securing more than $100 million in funding from private equity and individuals, including Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn and NBA star Kevin Durant.

NEW YORK, N.Y. – In just her first race as a member of the TCNJ women’s track and field squad, Lucia Garcia-Beltran took down a program record which had stood for 14 seasons. Her record-setting run highlighted TCNJ’s performance at the Lions Indoor Invitational on Friday.
 
ON THE TRACK

Lucia Garcia-Beltran posted a time of 7.63 in the 60m, breaking Miriam Khan’s previous program record set in 2011 (7.74). Garcia-Beltran’s time is also currently the fifth-best in Division III. Sarah Scepkowski ran the 60m before that race, finishing fifth with a time of 9.34—a new PR.

Kelly O’Grady claimed TCNJ’s second win of the day, logging a time of 1:16.62 in the 500m. Her time was over a second faster than the runner-up from Fordham. Kelsey Thomas posted a time of 41.75 in the 300m, while Mackenzie Burke logged a 42.10 in that same race. Burke’s time set herself a new PR. Cameron Ruffini and Breanna Casais both finished inside the top 10 in the 400m. Ruffini finished in 7^th (1:02.68) with Casais right behind in 8^th (1:03.14).

TCNJ’s distance runners also ran well, with Alex Grivas setting a new PR in the mile (5:24.99). Ava Biemuller logged the best overall finish among the group; she finished in 5^th with her PR time of 10:34.02.

IN THE FIELD

 

In addition to her top-5 finish in hurdles, Scepkowski finished in second place in the high jump, clearing 1.60m and recording a new PR in the process. That 1.60m-mark is top-20 in Division III. Lia Malave led the way in the long jump with her mark of 5.32m. Finally, Allison Lavin put a bow on the meet with her second-place efforts in both the shot put and weight throw (11.13m, 14.34).

 

It’s impossible to think about women’s volleyball without thinking about Nebraska.

It’s not about the six national titles the Cornhuskers have, or their extensive list of All-Americans. It’s because of a volleyball culture developed over the decades that has tied itself to the very core of the state’s identity. 

It’s top-tier investment from administration, fans and community that has led not just to the program’s on-court success, but to T-shirts boasting that Nebraska is “the volleyball state,” a match that was the second-highest attended women’s sporting event in the world and, crucially, a revenue-generating Cornhusker program. 

Texas A&M volleyball head coach Jamie Morrison wants the Aggies to reach that level — and he doesn’t think it’s that far away.

“When I took the job … I had a checklist of things, and one of them was where I could build something that is similar to here, where people really, really care about the sport of volleyball,” Morrison said before the Aggies’ first NCAA Tournament match in Lincoln, Nebraska, earlier in 2025. “And for me, it was about getting the 12th Man to get addicted to the game that we love. And I think that’s happening right now. So it’s not even like building there. I think we’re almost there. I think there’s a demand for season tickets next season. Things are happening along those lines where it’s going to get to that level.”

Of course, Morrison and the Aggies are no strangers to reaching ambitious goals. This season, A&M won its first national championship in school history by defeating three 1-seeds in a row in one of the sport’s wildest NCAA Tournament runs to date, all in Morrison’s third year in Aggieland.

But, to take that next step and build the sort of revenue-generating program that will stand the test of time, it’ll require more than just wins on the court. It requires buy-in from administrators and fans alike. 

Administration support

Like many A&M coaches, Morrison — who was hired by former athletic director Ross Bjork before the latter left for Ohio State — felt uncertain about the school’s athletic director vacancy.

Then came a major stroke of good fortune when, out of all candidates, the Aggies landed on then-Nebraska AD Trev Alberts, the Cornhuskers’ athletic director for, among other events, 2023’s “Volleyball Day in Nebraska,” a two-match event at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium that featured an attendance of 92,003 — the world’s second-most attended women’s sporting event.

“When I got hired, I said, like, ‘I want to become the second program to be profitable in the United States, and I want to give back to the athletic department,’” Morrison said before the Aggies’ match against the Cornhuskers. “To have somebody that doesn’t scoff at that and be like, ‘That’s impossible,’ but someone that says, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s possible. Let’s get to work.’ I think that’s huge. And I think to have someone that knows what it can be and knows how to build it to that has been a huge asset for me.”

More than just having the experience of leading an athletic department that places an emphasis on volleyball, Alberts is a bonafide volleyball nerd.

“He loves watching the sport, and I think he’s probably been at 80% of our matches at home,” Morrison said. “He sits courtside and gets nervous and loves it and talks to me afterwards and knows the game enough to … be able to go back and forth and banter about the volleyball game. And I don’t think that’s the case at most schools, and I’m very, very thankful for it.” 

Though that investment has to include the pocketbook. In the fiscal year 2024 — the college sports fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30 — Nebraska topped all Division I public institutions with a women’s volleyball operating budget of $5,911,267. A&M was seventh on that list with a budget of $3,747,561, according to data access via public records requests and published by Extra Points’ Matt Brown.

That does not include things like compensation earned via NIL or from revenue sharing with athletes. But the Aggies have confirmed that volleyball is one of the six programs that A&M is sharing revenue with athletes in.

Both Morrison and Alberts seem aligned with a growth mindset that A&M can be one of those few revenue-generating programs that turns into a profit for the athletic department. And they aren’t afraid to use Nebraska as the template.

“I brought a lot of people from our administration [to Lincoln] last year just to understand that this is possible,” Morrison said. “That having, I don’t know, a revenue-generating volleyball program that is adding to the athletic department, is possible. And I think we’re on our way there.”

But as part of that investment, there has to be another variable that continues to grow: fan buy-in.

Fan support 

When one walks into Nebraska’s Bob Devaney Sports Center, there’s a palpable weight that seems to fill the arena. 

It’s a feeling of hype, of expectation, a sense that this place is the peak of the sport. It’s a tangible feeling that represents everything Nebraska volleyball stands for, and the white whale that every program trying to reach the Cornhuskers’ level is chasing.

During a match, that expectation turns into a roaring reality, like the jam-packed crowd that the Aggies had to face to beat the Cornhuskers in five sets to advance to the 2025 Final Four in Kansas City.

“At one point, I felt like I could barely hear myself think with how loud it was ringing in my ears when we went 30,” senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky said after A&M’s win over Nebraska.

Morrison and the rest of his staff has been using the atmosphere that the Aggies had to overcome as a model for what they’d like Reed Arena to look like. 

“I have a lot of respect for this volleyball program, for the team that is here, for the atmosphere that happens around here, in the community around this area and how much they love the game of volleyball,” Morrison said. “And when I was choosing the place I was going to go to build a program to build. … A lot of it was based on, I wanted to build an audience similar to this. So to hear that that was that active back at home, I guarantee our attendance is going to go up next year, and again, we have some of the best fans in the country, but I’m proud that we’re well on the way to developing something that’s similar to what they have here at Nebraska.”

In a literal sense, the 12th Man has been buying in. In 2025 the Aggies set a program record for season tickets sold, and after winning a national title, nobody will be surprised to see that number skyrocket next year.

The Aggies’ student section and overall attendance have been reaching new heights, too. A&M set a program record with 9,801 fans attending its five-set win over Texas on Oct. 31, 2025. 

“To see how far it’s come, it’s just really awesome,” senior libero Ava Underwood said after the Aggies’ final match at Reed Arena, a 3-1 NCAA Tournament win over TCU. “It’s been a dream. I mean, the fact that we get to play in front of those fans every single day is great. And we knew it was gonna come to an end, but the 12th Man showed up, as they always do, and this place is becoming a volleyball powerhouse.”

Now, the trick is to make things sustainable. Nebraska has been able to reach the heights it has because it’s continued winning on the court, yes, but also because its athletic department and fans have remained invested in the program even when it’s not winning national titles, with its last coming in 2017.

Morrison has said publicly that winning a national championship every year cannot become an expectation — the sport just isn’t built that way. And as the defending national champions replace nine departing seniors and return just two starters, A&M is in for a rebuild year. 

But as long as the trifecta of continued investment, fan engagement and support paired with consistent on-court success remains, there’s no reason that the Aggies can’t accomplish all of the goals Morrison and his staff have set for the future.

“I came here not only to be good in one year,” Morrison said after the match against TCU. “I came only not to entertain this crowd … once this season and have them disappear, I came here to have sustained success. And I think that’s possible at this university. It’s possible because of the fan base, because of the 12th Man, the way people show up, people want to come play in front of people where this matters. I think this administration is supporting our program and women’s athletics, and I think we’re going to be a formidable force for years to come.”

 
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Maxim Rychkov took down yet another program record to headline the Lions Indoor Invitational for TCNJ’s men’s track and field squad.
 
ON THE TRACK
 
Rychkov’s new record came in the 400m, where he won the race with a rapid time of 47.95. That time, which shaves about half of a second off the previous record of 48.57, is 6^th-best in Division III and 23^rd-best across all three divisions. Noah Traverso finished in second behind Rychkov in that race, posting a time of 49.03. His time is currently the 16^th-fastest in Division III and also an NCAA top-100 mark.
 
Jayvee Dumas recorded a new PR in the 60m hurdles, finishing in 5^th place with a time of 8.54.
 
Tyler Seaton and Zach Salib both logged PR times en route to top-10 finishes in the 200m. Seaton finished in 6^th (22.85) and Salib finished in 9^th (23.07). Brody Dillich finished in under two minutes in the 800m, placing 6^th with a time of 1:59.17. Victor Akinboboye posted an impressive time of 35.54 in the 300m. His time was 18^th-best in Division III. Anthony Senatore was the first Lion across the line in the 500m; he finished 7^th in 1:06.36. 
 
Building off of a championship season, TCNJ’s cross country runners shined in the long-distance events. Brandon Chen (3^rd, 8:38.71), Phil Pace (4^th, 8:38.76), Kevin Matthews (7^th, 8:46.61), Josh Santiago (10^th, 8:50.29), Evan Melito (11^th, 8:52.87), and Anthony Guarino (15^th, 9:07.72), all recorded DIII top-100 times in the 3000m. In the mile, Ryan Segalla led the with a 10^th-place finish (4:28.13).
 
IN THE FIELD
 
Jayvee Dumas headlined the action in the field for TCNJ with his 3^rd-place finish in the pole vault (4.55m). With his performance, Jayvee set the new 22^nd-best mark in Division III.
Tyler Meier was the best Lion in the high jump (9^th, 1.80m), while Ryan Donnelly (9^th, 6.34m) and Juan Alino (10^th, 6.14m) were the best TCNJ athletes in the long jump.
 
Finally, Braden Paulmenn and Christian Farhat logged a pair of top-5 finishes in the shot put and weight throw. In the shot put, Paulmenn finished in 3^rd with a mark of 15.38m, while Farhat finished in 4^th with a mark of 14.41. The two finished in 4^th and 5^th respectively in the weight throw; Paulmenn logged a 13.98 and Farhat logged a 13.64m.