STOCKTON WINS FOURTH STRAIGHT NJAC CHAMPIONSHIP

Christine Velott

Boxscore

Richard Stockton (25-8) won their record-tying fourth consecutive NJAC championship by downing Ramapo (28-7) 27-25, 25-19, 25-14.

With the win, the Ospreys tied Glassboro State’s league record of four straight volleyball titles from 1984-87. Stockton also earned an automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament.

Stockton once against received a balanced offensive attack as Christine Velott (Moorestown/Moorestown) led with a match-high 11 kills but had help from 2011 NJAC Player of the Year Stephanie Warner (Totowa/Passaic Valley) and Kasey Hennecke (Fair Lawn/ Fair Lawn) with nine each. Tabitha Nejman (Runnemede/Our Lady of Mercy) and Nicole Serekian (Mahwah/Mahwah) chipped in with eight kills apiece.

In the tense first game, the Roadrunners took a 12-6 lead before the Ospreys ran off seven straight points to pull ahead 13-12. Ramapo later led 18-16 before Stockton battled back and took the set 27-25. Velott and Warner had four kills each for Stockton while Allison DiAngelo countered with four kills for Ramapo.

The second set saw the Ospreys run out to a 10-4 lead and stay in front by at least three points the rest of the set. Velott picked up five more kills in the game and the Ospreys used their offensive balance to offset six kills by Ramapo’s Michelle Ferrari.

The third set featured a key segment with Stockton setter Mayan Alvarado (Gainesville, FL/ P.K. Yonge) as the spark plug. Alvarado served two straight aces and followed with a kill to spur Stockton to a 9-4 lead and the Ospreys cruised from there to clinch the NJAC crown.

Laura Hausman (Bethlehem, PA/Catasauqua) led the way for Stockton with 22 assists while Alvarado had 19 more helpers. Ashley Gubista (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) led all players with 16 digs, while Hausman and Hennecke each chipped in with nine. Alvarado also notched a match-high four aces.

For Ramapo, Ferrari had 10 kills while Tiffany Fischer dished a match-high 28 assists. Elizabeth Steck led the team with 13 digs while Ferrari and Fischer tallied 12 digs apiece.

With the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament secure, Stockton will find out its destination and opponent when the brackets are announced on www.NCAA.com at 11:30 am on Monday.