Baltimore, Md. – Stockton University (31-3) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Penn State Behrend (19-11) in a first-round match at Johns Hopkins University. The Ospreys took two close sets 25-23 and 25-21 before pulling away to win 25-15 in the third stanza.
 
Jocelyn Holobetz (Pottstown, Pa./Nativity BVM) tied her career-high with 12 kills to lead Stockton. Julie Kohlhoff (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) contributed 11 kills followed by Sarah Walsh (Flemington/Hunterdon Cental) with eight.
 
Emily Sullivan (Bridgewater/Bridgewater-Raritan) totaled 33 assists, nine digs, seven kills and four aces for the Ospreys. Christie Louer (Clifton/Clifton) paced the back-row defense with 11 digs. Stockton finished with a .363 hitting percentage in the victory.
 
Stockton trailed 14-11 in the first set before surging ahead with nine straight points for a 20-14 lead. Holobetz and Kohlhoff spiked three kills apiece during the outburst. The Lions rallied to tie at 23 but Stockton answered with two straight points to win 25-23.
 
In the second set, Sullivan capped a 6-0 run with a kill that put the Ospreys on top 13-7. Stockton led 22-15 when Penn State Behrend ran off five points in a row to pull with 22-20. The Ospreys responded with three of the next four points, two on kills by Holobetz, to take the set 25-21.
 
Stockton fell behind 8-4 in the third set and later trailed 10-7. Sullivan served four aces during a run of seven consecutive points by the Ospreys that vaulted them into a 14-10 lead. They closed the match by scoring seven of the last eight points to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, 25-15.
 
The win was Stockton's 31st of the season, equaling the second-highest total in the program's 45-year history. The Ospreys will face unbeaten Johns Hopkins (30-0) in an NCAA second-round match tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. The Blue Jays are ranked sixth in the AVCA Division III national poll.