Galloway, NJ – Five Stockton University volleyball players were voted NJAC all-conference for the 2018 season. Leading the way was senior
Allie Desmond (Ellicott City, MD/Marriotts Ridge) who was chosen NJAC Player of the Year and selected to the NJAC First Team for her play.
Joining Desmond on the NJAC First Team was
Emily Sullivan (Bridgewater/Bridgewater-Raritan), who earned a First Team slot for the second straight time.
Julie Kohlhoff (West Islip, NY/West Islip) collected an NJAC Second Team nod, with
Franceska Gustave (Edgewater/Leonia) and
Natalie Miller (Pittsburgh, PA/Thomas Jefferson) garnering NJAC Honorable Mention accolades.
Desmond, Kohlhoff and Gustave received all-conference nods for the first time in their careers. Miller was an NJAC Second Team pick last year. The five Ospreys led the team to a perfect 8-0 record in conference play for first place in the NJAC standings as well as an impressive 26-8 overall mark.
Desmond had a tremendous senior season, leading the team and NJAC in kills (3.84 kps) while also ranking second in the conference in points (4.13 pps) and fifth in hitting percentage (.298), all career highs. In addition, she registered 68 blocks, which was third on the team.
In conference play, Desmond posted a. 320 hitting percentage and topped the league in kills (4.36 kps) and points (4.61). She was selected NJAC Player of the Week twice this year and became the 10th Osprey to receive the NJAC Player of the Year honor.
Sullivan, a sophomore setter, had another tremendous season at Stockton. An NJAC Player of the Week honoree once this year, she ranks fourth in the conference in aces (0.61 aps), sixth in assists (7.36 aps) and seventh in hitting percentage (.290). Sullivan also contributed 104 kills, 228 digs and 27 blocks on the season. She dished 20 or more assists in 26 of 32 matches this season.
Kohlhoff had a breakout sophomore season, leading the team and NJAC in blocks (0.93 bps) and ranking fourth in the league in hitting percentage (.314). The middle hitter also finished second on the team in kills behind Desmond with 192 spikes. Kohlhoff hit .380 and averaged a conference-high 1.11 blocks in Stockton's eight NJAC matches.
Fellow soph Gustave helped Kohlhoff at the net, ranking second in the league in blocks (0.83 bps) behind her teammate. Gustave is sixth in the conference in hitting percentage (.292) overall, but against NJAC foes, Gustave ratcheted it up to a sterling .395 percentage, ranking second in the league.
Miller was solid on the backline for the Ospreys once again. The junior libero was named NJAC Defensive Player of the Week on one occasion and had double-digit dig totals in 29 of 34 matches this season. Miller is fourth in the NJAC in digs (4.28 dps), and she also contributed 109 assists and 18 aces this season.
Miller topped the 1,000-dig mark in a match against Messiah on September 28 and has 1,210 digs for her career, 10th in Stockton history, with one year still to play.
