Galloway, NJ – Stockton University (25-6, 8-0 NJAC) captured the top seed for the NJAC Tournament with a tough 3-2 (25-12, 22-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-10) victory over Kean University (16-13, 6-2 NJAC) on Tuesday night. The Ospreys will have home-court advantage throughout the NJAC playoffs.
 
Allie Desmond (Ellicott City, MD/Marriotts Ridge) led the Ospreys with a match-high 22 kills, with teammate Julie Kohlhoff (West Islip, NY/West Islip) spiking 12 kills and tying for match-high honors with six blocks. The Ospreys have finished the regular season undefeated in conference play for the 15th time and first time since 2015.
 
After being tied at 7-7 in the first set, the Ospreys rode the serves of Sophia Marziello (Haddonfield/Paul VI) and Christie Louer (Clifton/Clifton) to sprint to a 21-11 lead, forcing the Cougars into a time out. Kennedy Hubbard (Moorestown/Moorestown) finished off the set with three points on serve for the 25-12 win.
 
Kean responded with a 25-22 win in the second set, capitalizing on unforced errors by the Ospreys. Stockton used a 7-1 run to pull away and win set number three 25-17. The Ospreys built a 13-9 lead in the fourth set but were outscored 16-9 the rest of the way as Kean again fought back 25-22 to force the fifth and deciding set.
 
Emily Sullivan (Bridgewater/Bridgewater-Raritan) served four straight points before the Cougars rallied with five of their own to take a 5-4 lead in the final frame. The Ospreys responded with a 6-2 spurt, highlighted by three kills from Desmond, to build a 10-7 advantage. Stockton later clinched the win with three straight markers, the last of which came on another kill by Desmond for the 15-10 victory.
 
Sullivan led the team with 41 assists and added five blocks to go with three kills for Stockton. Caity Ullmer (Midland Park/Midland Park) spiked eight kills and had eight digs while Marziello led all players with three aces. Natalie Miller (Pittsburgh, PA/Thomas Jefferson) scooped 19 digs with seven assists and Grace Brandt (Floral Park, NY/Floral Park) contributed nine digs.
 
Brett Harper led Kean with 14 kills. Teammates Jesse Larkin and Zoe Strozewksi added 11 and 10 kills respectively. Larkin tied for match-high honors with six blocks at the net. Brianna Calvano dished a match-high 43 assists, with teammate Kortnee Nelson grabbing a match-high 20 digs on the backline.
 
Stockton will finish the regular season with a pair of non-conference matches on Saturday. The Ospreys will travel to Center Valley, PA to face Neumann University at 3pm and then host DeSales University at 5 pm.