CAMDEN, N.J. (Oct. 31, 2023) – Needing a win to qualify for the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs, the Rutgers University-Camden volleyball team had the unenviable task of facing NJAC powerhouse Stockton University in its final regular-season conference match here Tuesday.
 
After already clinching the NJAC regular-season title, the Ospreys added another conference victim to their count as they swept the Scarlet Raptors, 3-0, by scores of 25-23, 25-19 and 25-21. In doing so, they knocked Rutgers-Camden out of a post-season berth.
 
Rutgers-Camden falls to 13-13 overall and, more importantly, 3-5 in NJAC play. The loss dropped the Scarlet Raptors into a three-way tie for fifth place in the bid to reach the six-team NJAC playoffs. The Raptors finished the conference schedule tied with Rowan and Montclair State. The first tie-breaker, head-to-head round-robin records, failed to determine a winner as all the teams went 1-1, with Rutgers-Camden beating Rowan (3-2) and losing to Montclair State (3-0), while Rowan beat Montclair State (3-0). The next tie-breaker, however, counts the set records among the three teams, with Rowan going 5-3, Montclair State going 3-3, and Rutgers-Camden going 3-5. That tie-breaker dropped the Raptors into seventh place and out of the playoff picture.
 
Stockton, which raised its overall record to 19-9, finished at 8-0 in conference play and will be the top seed in the conference playoffs. The Ospreys will have a first-round bye and host a semifinal match November 9 at 7 p.m.
 
NJAC playoff bracket
 
In the first set, Stockton rallied from late deficits of 22-19 and 23-21 to post a 25-23 victory. The Ospreys went on to post their fifth 3-0 sweep in eight conference matches.
 
Stockton also improved its all-time record against Rutgers-Camden to 25-0. They have won nine consecutive 3-0 matches in the series and have posted 3-0 sweeps in 23 of their 25 wins.
 
Three-time NJAC Rookie of the Week Nicole Palmer paced Stockton with 10 kills, while senior Aubrey Rentzel and sophomore Regan Mendick had 16 and 12 assists, respectively. A pair of freshman defensive specialists, Lauren Sommer and McKenna Ritchie, had 10 digs apiece.
 
Middle blocker Kaliyah Moss paced the Scarlet Raptors with a match-high 11 kills, while outside hitter Dyamond Free added 10 kills. A pair of setters, sophomore Avery Ang and freshman JoAnna Andrews, had 19 and 13 assists, respectively.
 
A trio of Raptors notched double digits in digs, led by senior Erica Nebrich with 11. Ang completed a double-double with 10 digs, while freshman Mia Owens also collected 10 digs.
 
Rutgers-Camden closes its season schedule Saturday with an 11:30 a.m. non-conference game at Goucher College.