Glassboro, N.J. – Stockton University (22-8) advanced to the NJAC championship match with a 3-1 victory over Rowan University (25-6) in the NJAC Tournament semifinals. The No. 3 seed Ospreys avenged a regular season defeat by knocking off the No. 2 seed Profs.
 
Kate Louer (Clifton/Clifton) led Stockton with a double-double of 20 kills and 14 digs. Jalynn Grant (Philadelphia, Pa./North Penn) chipped in with career highs of 11 kills and six blocks.
 
Nicole Palmer (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip) returned to the lineup for the first time since October 25 and spiked 11 kills. Helen Murray (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) tied Louer with 14 digs.
 
McKenna Ritchie (Newark, Del./Newark Charter) scooped nine digs and reached the 1,000-dig plateau for her career, becoming the first Osprey since 2021 to achieve that milestone.
 
Kristen Burton (Annapolis, Md./Archbishop Spalding) tied her career high with 28 assists while Regan Mendick (Newark, Del./Red Lion Christian) contributed 17 assists and four kills on five well-timed attacks.
 
Stockton staved off Rowan rallies in the first, second and fourth sets. The Ospreys built an 18-12 lead in the first stanza, only to see the Profs pull into a 21-21 tie. Stockton then scored four of the next six points to win 25-23. Louer paced the Ospreys with seven kills.
 
In the second set, Stockton crept out to a 21-17 lead before a 4-1 Rowan spurt cut the margin to one at 22-21. The Ospreys again finished strong, scoring three of the next four points for a 25-22 triumph. Grant topped the squad with five kills and three blocks in the set.
 
Rowan extended the match by taking the third set 25-17. Stockton led 11-5 and 20-15 in the fourth set, however the Profs refused to go away. After ties at 23, 24 and 25, the Ospreys faced a set point against at 26-25. A kill by Grant followed by two straight kills from Louer lifted Stockton to a dramatic 28-26 victory.
 
Abigail Chadwick and Jessica Smart paced Rowan with 19 and 17 kills respectively. Raven Albrecht dished 45 assists and Vanessa Hutchinson recorded 20 digs for the Profs, who played inspired volleyball in honor of head coach Deana Jesperson who passed away just 11 days ago after a courageous battle with cancer.
 
Stockton will play in the NJAC championship match for the third straight year. The Ospreys will play at No. 1 seed Kean University on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. with the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.