Aston, PA – Stockton University (21-10) ended the regular season by splitting a pair of matches. The Ospreys rallied to top DeSales (21-9) in five sets 23-25, 27-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-7. Stockton couldn't sustain the momentum and fell to host Neumann (15-21) in four frames 25-21, 18-25, 25-21, 25-21.
In the victory over DeSales,
Stephanie Kovacs (Allentown, PA/Central Catholic) spiked a match-high 24 kills, her fourth outing of the season with 20-plus, followed by
Sarah Walsh (Flemington/Hunterdon Central) with 16 kills and
Allie Desmond (Ellicott City, MD/Marriotts Ridge) with 14.
Emily Sullivan (Bridgewater/Bridgewater-Raritan) dished 41 assists, her second-highest total of the season, and completed a double-double with 11 digs. Fellow setter
Alice Brandt (Floral Park, NY/Floral Park) also notched a double-double with 21 assists and 11 digs.
Natalie Miller (Pittsburgh, PA/Thomas Jefferson) tied her career high with 27 digs.
The Ospreys trailed two sets to one and 17-15 in the fourth before outlasting the Bulldogs 25-23 to extend the match. Desmond scored the last two Stockton points with kills. They broke the fifth set open with four straight points that made it 7-3. The Ospreys later tallied the last four points of the match, with the final two coming on kills by Kovacs to seal the victory.
Kovacs led the Ospreys in kills again with 13 against Neumann, followed by Desmond with eight. Sullivan handed out 17 assists and Brandt dealt 16 helpers. Miller tied for match-high honors with 19 digs and
Jocelyn Holobetz (Pottsville, PA/Nativity BVM) scooped a career-high 17 digs.
Stockton is the No. 3 seed for the NJAC Tournament and will host No. 6 Rutgers-Camden in a first round match on Tuesday at 7 pm.
