Galloway, N.J. – Stockton University (30-3) captured the 2019 NJAC championship with a 3-1 victory over Rowan University (19-15) on Saturday afternoon. The scores were 25-27, 25-22, 25-13 and 25-19. Julie Kohlhoff (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) led the Ospreys with 17 kills, seven blocks and an outstanding .593 hitting percentage on the day.
 
The title is the first for Stockton since 2015 and 13th overall in the program's history. The Ospreys also won their 30th match of the season, the fourth time in school history that the squad has achieved that mark.
 
The Ospreys started fast to open the match, jumping out to 4-1 and 10-5 leads before the Profs got untracked. The visitors slowly climbed back into the set, finally knotting it at 23-23. A spike by Kohlhoff gave Stockton a brief 25-24 advantage, but Rowan was able to stave off the home team and win the first set 27-25.
 
Stockton again started fast in the second set, but the teams would forge nine ties during the set as every point was a battle. The Ospreys were finally able to put some distance toward the end of the frame. At 17-17, Stockton put on a 7-2 spurt for a 24-19 lead. Rowan scored the next three points before Christie Louer (Clifton/Clifton) gave Stockton a 25-22 win with a kill.
 
The third set was all Ospreys as they cruised to a 25-13 win. Sophia Marziello (Haddonfield/Paul VI) served two aces and scooped four digs, spurring Stockton to the set victory. Marziello, along with Alice Brandt (Floral Park, NY/Floral Park), who had four digs and Natalie Miller (Pittsburgh, PA/Thomas Jefferson) with eight digs, stifled the Profs' offense.
 
The final set of the match saw Rowan take a quick 4-1 lead at the start before Stockton battled back to tie the game at 5-5. The Ospreys methodically started to pull away with leads of 14-10 and 18-13. The Profs made one last run closing to 22-17, forcing Stockton into a timeout to slow the pace. The Ospreys then closed out the set 25-19 to win the NJAC title.
 
In addition to Kohlhoff, Charlotte Leon (Northport, N.Y./Northport) added 10 kills and five blocks. Sarah Walsh (Flemington/Hunterdon Central), Louer and Emily Sullivan (Bridgewater-Bridgewater-Raritan) all spiked seven kills each.
 
Sullivan added 42 assists, eight digs and five blocks, tying her career-high in stuffs. Franceska Gustave (Edgewater/Leonia) also had five blocks as Stockton defense totaled 24 blocks and scooped 77 digs for the match. Miller led four Ospreys with 26 digs, the ninth time this season she has scooped 20 or more digs. Louer had 16 digs to go with a match-high three aces. Marziello and Brandt had 10 digs each.
 
The Ospreys have qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time and will find out who they will play on Monday afternoon. The NCAA Division III bracket will be announced on Monday at 12:30 pm on NCAA.com.