BOX SCORE
POMONA, NJ…In a battle of the final two unbeaten teams in conference play this season, and a rematch of the 2005 and 2006 New Jersey Athletic Conference championship matches, Richard Stockton College snapped New Jersey City University's 15-match regular season conference winning streak and seized sole possession of first place in the NJAC with a 25-10, 25-17, 25-15 victory on Tuesday night at the Stockton Sports Center.
With the victory, Stockton improves to 18-7 and 4-0 in the NJAC, handing the Knights their first loss in league play since a 3-2 defeat at Stockton on October 10, 2006. NJCU (9-5, 4-1 NJAC) also had its seven-match winning streak end with the loss. Stockton leads the all-time series, 37-5; NJCU has still won five of the last eight meetings between the schools.
The Ospreys, which have now won five of six overall since September 30, hit a staggering .301 as a team behind 37 kills (37-15-73), while limiting NJCU to a negative hitting rate (-.026, 17-19-77).
Senior middle hitter Audrey O'Donnell (Bogota, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy) led the way with a .529 percentage, finishing with 10 kills and one error (10-1-17) and three blocks. Freshman outside hitter Christine Velott (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) also had 10 kills (10-5-20, .250) with seven digs, while senior setter Christine Aletras (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) had 30 assists on 60 attempts and added a match-high eight digs.
The Ospreys also received seven kills and a .500 percentage (7-1-12), with three aces from senior outside hitter Amanda Burkart (Cresskill, NJ/Cresskill) and seven kills (7-3-13, .308) and two blocks from freshman opposite Anna Streicher (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee).
For NJCU, senior middle blocker SARAH TORRES (Elizabeth, NJ/Science) had five kills and two blocks. Sophomore setter ALEX JOHANESEN (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) dished 14 assists and compiled three assisted blocks, but had her streak of consecutive matches with at least one ace end at 17. Senior outside hitter JACQUELINE LeBLANC (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) defended seven of NJCU's 21 digs.
Stockton hit .368 in the opening set and never trailed after 2-2. The game was 12-8, but paced by Streicher, who had four of her seven kills, and the serving of sophomore defensive specialist Christine Astarita (Selden, NY/Newfield), who added two aces, the Ospreys uncorked a 13-2 run to win 25-10.
In the second set, O'Donnell sparked the Ospreys with six kills and Aletrashanded out 11 assists as RSC turned an 11-8 contest into an 18-9 lead off a 7-1 run. The Gothic Knights came within 22-16, but could only score once more in the frame.
The Ospreys opened an 11-5 lead in the third set as Burkart had five of her kills. Winners by Torres helped NJCU climb within 13-8 and 15-9 and a later kill by the Knights made it 18-12, before RSC scored seven of the final 10 points to seal the match.
NJCU will be back in action on Thursday, October 9 at 7 p.m. when it hosts Lehman College in a non-conference match at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
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