Union, N.J. – Stockton University (26-3, 7-1 NJAC) saw its incredible 19-match winning streak halted by two-time defending conference champion Kean University (23-8, 7-1) in the final NJAC match of the regular season. The defeat was the first suffered by the Ospreys since way back on September 14.
Stockton won the first two sets by identical 25-23 scores but then dropped the next two frames each 25-16. The Ospreys led 12-10 in the fifth set but yielded five of the next six points and fell 15-13. The setback was just the second in nine five-set matches for Stockton this year.
Julie Kohlhoff (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) slugged a career-high 19 kills followed by
Charlotte Leon (Northport, N.Y./Northport) and
Caity Ullmer (Midland Park/Midland Park) with 10 kills apiece.
Emily Sullivan (Bridgewater/Bridgewater-Raritan) contributed 44 assists and 18 digs, one of four Ospreys to reach double figures in digs.
Natalie Miller (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) topped Stockton with 27 digs while
Sophia Marziello (Haddonfield/Paul VI) and
Christie Louer tallied 17 and 11 digs respectively. The Ospreys were hampered by 34 hitting errors and a season-worst .092 hitting percentage.
Stockton fell behind 7-1 in the first set but surged ahead with a 12-2 run that featured three kills by Kohlhoff. Leading 13-9, the Ospreys stayed in front the rest of the way for the 25-23 win.
Kean scored the first eight points of the second set before Stockton responded with a 16-3 onslaught highlighted by three more kills from Kohlhoff. The stanza later was tied 23-23 when kills by Ullmer and
Haley Green (Springville, Utah/Maple Mountain) gave the Ospreys another 25-23 win for a 2-0 lead.
Stockton never led in the third set and fell behind 15-8 in the fourth on the way to dropping both 25-16. The tight fifth set was tied seven times before the Ospreys edged in front 13-12 on a kill by Ullmer. Kean then scored the next three points, two on Stockton attack errors, to bring the lengthy 19-match winning streak to an end, 15-13.
Despite the loss, Stockton earned the No. 1 seed for next week's NJAC Tournament on a tiebreaker over Kean and Rowan after all three teams finished 7-1 in conference play.
Stockton will finish the regular season with a home tri-match at The Sports Center on Saturday in which the Ospreys will play DeSales at 10 AM and Neumann at 2 PM.
