UNION, N.J. (10/29/19)- Jesse Larkin finished with 18 kills, nine blocks and a .341 hitting percentage as the Kean University women's volleyball team roared back from a two set deficit to defeat Stockton University, 3-2 in five sets on Tuesday evening.
Cailyn Ross totaled 13 kills and five blocks for the Cougars who improve to 23-8 overall and finish the New Jersey Athletic Conference regular season at 7-1 overall.
Julie Kohlhoff tallied 19 kills and a .444 hitting percentage for the Ospreys who fall to 26-3 overall and finish the NJAC regular season at 7-1 overall.
Kean dropped the opening two sets by identical 25-23 scores, despite leading to open each set. The Cougars took the fight to Stockton in sets three and four as Kean emerged victorious with identical 25-16 scores. Larkin totaled 13 kills in both Cougar set wins, including nine in the fourth set alone as Kean hit a match-high .333 in that set.
In the deciding set, the Ospreys took a late 12-10 lead, forcing the Cougars to respond. Kean answered with a 5-1 run, to end the match including the final three points.
Brianna Calvano filled up the stat sheet with 45 assists, 14 digs, seven kills, and three blocks.
Zoe Strozewski totaled 11 kills and five blocks, while
Sedona Gaard tallied nine kills, 12 digs and two blocks. On the defensive side,
Kortnee Nelson (23),
Michelle Froehlich (17) and
Amanda DeLio (16) all recorded double digit digs.
Despite Stockton losing, the Ospreys captured the regular season championship and earned the top seed in the upcoming NJAC tournament. Rowan secured the second seed and Kean fell into the third seed based on the conference's tiebreaker system.
Also, Larkin needs three kills to reach 1,000 for her career.
Head Coach
Don Perkins and the Cougars will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 2
nd, hosting the Bulldogs of Brooklyn College at 12:00 p.m. and the Cougars of Misericordia University at 4:00 p.m. for Senior Day. Before the opening match, Coach Perkins and his staff will honor Calvano, Larkin, Nelson and
Jess Iacona.
