Despite missing 2 starters, Thomas Jefferson boys volleyball team downs Deer Lakes

By: Josh Rizzo
Thursday, May 14, 2026 | 11:19 PM

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The Thomas Jefferson boys volleyball team couldn’t deploy a picture-perfect attack in the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals against Deer Lakes. The Jaguars weren’t equipped to do so Thursday night on the road.

Missing two starters, Thomas Jefferson instead focused on putting the Lancers out of system. The Jaguars then put up an aggressive block to make sure it stayed that way. Fifth-seeded Thomas Jefferson responded with a 25-15, 28-26, 25-16 win to upend the No. 4 Lancers.

“I think it was the block and a combination of the serving,” 6-foot-6 Jaguars sophomore setter Brayden Concannon said. “We put them out of system, and then we just blocked the crap out of them.”

The Jaguars played without 6-foot-1 outside hitter Maksim Gardner-Cotera and 5-9 middle hitter Jason Pradhan.

“My outside’s playing middle, my setter’s playing outside,” Thomas Jefferson coach Frank Steffen said. “I had a freshman setter in. Everyone is out of position.”

Donald Renk stepped up and played on the outside, and Finn McHugh did the setting. Deer Lakes (8-6) opened the match on a 4-1 run.

However, Thomas Jefferson eventually took the lead it would never give back in the opening set on a net violation, 9-8. That was part of a 11-2 run by the Jaguars, which was capped by a block from Carter McHugh.

“They just played their hearts out,” Steffen said. “A lot of them are playing different positions today. Donny never played outside. For them to hustle and sacrifice like that, you could tell they wanted to win.”

Deer Lakes coach Devin Reiher said he thought the Lancers were tense. Their attack wasn’t as sharp as it had been during the regular season.

“I think all of our guys were playing nervous,” Reiher said. “Each mistake we made was like a ball and chain on them. They led to two or three points. It started spiraling out of control, and we started playing less disciplined. We just needed to keep our heads on our shoulders.”

The major swing in the match came in the second set. Thomas Jefferson fought off two set points to take control. Renk delivered a kill to even the second set at 24-24.

Deer Lakes answered with a kill off a back-set from Alex Godinez. The Lancers gave away the next point on a service error. Thomas Jefferson surged ahead 26-25 on a block by Carter McHugh.

“We were on rocky footing the entire match, I feel like,” Reiher said. “Every little mistake we made threw us off our game, especially with the missed serves. We really needed a lead to keep our momentum in that match.”

Concannon delivered an ace following a Deer Lakes attack error to give Thomas Jefferson a 28-26 win in the second set.

Thomas Jefferson took an early lead in the third set and leaned on its strong setting to grab a win. The Jaguars will take on No. 1 Shaler in the semifinals.

“We practice blocking every single practice, every warmup we do,” Concannon said. “We’re really proud of the guys who do it when they accomplish that.”

Tags: Deer Lakes, Thomas Jefferson