Union, NJ – No. 3 seed Stockton University (23-11) returned to the NJAC championship match after a one-year absence and nearly rallied from a two-set deficit to reclaim the crown but fell 3-2 to No. 1 seed Kean University. The set scores were 26-24, 26-24, 23-25, 19-25, 15-12 in a contest worthy of a title tilt.
 
Allie Desmond (Ellicott City, MD/Marriotts Ridge) led the Ospreys with a career-high 20 kills. Sarah Walsh (Flemington/Hunterdon Central) spiked 12 kills and Franceska Gustave (Edgewater/Leonia) topped the Ospreys with a career-high 11 blocks.
 
Alice Brandt (Floral Park, NY/Floral Park) tallied 24 assists and 11 digs while Emily Sullivan (Bridgewater/Bridgewater-Raritan) finished with 17 assists and 13 digs. Natalie Miller (Pittsburgh, PA/Thomas Jefferson) snagged a match-high 24 digs.
 
Stockton led the first set 21-15, then 23-20 and had two set points at 24-22, however Kean scored four straight counters to steal the opening stanza 26-24. The Ospreys trailed 23-18 in the second frame but Desmond and Walsh hit two kills apiece during a 6-1 run that tied it 24-24. The Cougars answered with two straight points to prevail 26-24 again.
 
Things looked bleak for the Ospreys as they fell behind 16-9 in the third set. Desmond led a rally with three kills during a 13-3 run that thrust Stockton into a 22-19 lead. With the score tied at 23, it was Stockton's turn to register two points in a row and extend the match 25-23.
 
In the fourth set, a kill by Walsh and four straight attack errors by Kean resulted in a five-point burst that gave the Ospreys an 11-5 advantage. Stockton later scored five consecutive points again to extend to 16-7. Leading 22-12, the Ospreys had some nervous moments as they yielded six straight points that closed the gap to 22-18 before they regrouped and forced a fifth set with a 25-19 triumph.
 
The decisive set was back-and-forth early, until four more errors by the Cougars allowed Stockton to pull ahead 11-9. A Kean point was answered by a kill from Desmond that gave the Ospreys a 12-10 edge, but they did not score again. The Cougars reeled off five straight markers to deny Stockton's valiant effort at a huge comeback by downing the Ospreys 15-12.
 
The young Stockton team with just three seniors finished the season with a 23-11 record. The future appears bright for a squad that has nine first- or second-year players including three NJAC all-conference honorees in freshman Sullivan (NJAC Rookie of the Year/NJAC First Team) and sophomores Walsh (NJAC Second Team) and Miller (NJAC Second Team).