Galloway, N.J. – Stockton University (20-7) saw its 13-match winning streak come to an end as the Ospreys were edged 3-2 by Salisbury (25-7) in a tight, well-played match that featured 37 ties and 17 leads changes through five close sets.
Stockton was bidding for to extend its win streak against a Sea Gulls' team that tops the Others Receiving Votes Category of the AVCA Division III poll, essentially ranked 26th in the nation.
Kate Louer (Clifton/Clifton) spiked a career-high 22 kills and
Rileigh Wilson (Milton, Del./Cape Henlopen) tied her career best with 20 kills. Louer completed a double-double with 11 digs while Wilson tallied a career-high six blocks.
Setters
Regan Mendick (Newark, Del./Red Lion Christian) and
Kristen Burton (Annapolis, Md./Archbishop Spalding) notched career highs of 33 and 28 assists respectively.
Helen Murray (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) scooped a match-high 20 digs followed by
McKenna Ritchie (Newark, Del./Newark Charter) with a season-high 19 digs.
Laila Newborn (Lower Merion, Pa./Lower Merion) contributed a career-high 10 blocks and
Camille De La Torre (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) chipped in with a season-high 11 kills.
The Ospreys fought back from a 22-19 deficit to take the first set 27-25 for their 35th consecutive set victory. Louer led the way with six kills. The second frame was equally close, with Salisbury coming out on top 26-24 despite six kills by Wilson and five from Louer.
The third set featured a whopping 13 ties and seven lead changes before Salisbury prevailed 27-25. Stockton then stayed alive by winning the fourth stanza 25-20.
Stockton fell behind 11-4 in the deciding fifth set, however the Ospreys gamely rallied with a 7-1 run to get within 12-11. Three kills by Louer spurred the comeback. Salisbury answered by scoring three of the next four points to hold off Stockton 15-12 and halt the Osprey win streak at 13 matches.
Gwen Eustace paced the Sea gulls with a match-high 23 kills and five blocks. Kiley McTaggert smacked 15 kills and Alyssa DeWaal totaled 11 kills. Salisbury setter Julie Altieri handed out 55 assists and added 17 digs.
Stockton will have a quick turnaround and finish the regular season by hosting NYU tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.
