Box Score

NEWARK, NJ – A young Rutgers University-Newark team put a scare into six-time defending New Jersey Athletic Conference champion Richard Stockton before the Ospreys rallied for a 23-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-15 league win in The Golden Dome Arena.
 
After taking game one 25-23, the Scarlet Raiders (7-5, NJAC 0-2) jumped out to a 9-5 lead in game two before Stockton (13-2, NJAC 2-0) settled down to control play against the freshman and sophomore dominated Rutgers-Newark team.
 
Junior middle hitter Sharee Gordon paced the Raiders with 16.5 points on a team-high 11 kills, four solo blocks and three blocking assists.  She hit .375 (11 kills, 2 errors, 24 attacks) against the tall and talented Stockton front line which held Rutgers-Newark's other attackers to negative hitting numbers.
 
Freshman setter Nathalie Breining notched 27 assists and eight digs while getting in on two blocks for the Raiders.  Freshman outside hitter Karolina Kopacz hammered down 10 kills and came up with six digs while sophomore defensive specialist Kathy Hormaza posted a team-high 10 digs.  Rookie libero Sue Riley handled 28 serves without an error but posted a season-low seven digs against the hard-hitting Ospreys.
 
Freshman outside hitter Samantha Renfree added four kills while sophomore right side Hannah Riede delivered two of the Raiders' three aces.
 
Junior middle hitter Macy Schwartz rallied the Ospreys by coming up with 11 of her match-high 15 kills in the final three frames.  She hit .417 (15-2-25) while also getting in on six of Stockton's 14 blocks for 18 points.  Sophomore opposite Lindsay Schuele tied Schwartz in points with 10 kills, six blocking assists and a match-high five aces.
 
Sophomore middle hitter Idi Uffen, who finished with nine kills, had three solo blocks and five blocking assists to help disrupt the Raider attack while senior libero Emily Grube came up with a match-high 18 digs, served three aces and handled 30 serves without a reception error.
 
Junior Shannon Clark and freshman Kalette Demarrais combined for 44 assists to fuel the Stockton attack.
 
Rutgers-Newark raced out to an 11-4 lead in game one and reached game point at 24-20.  After the Ospreys fought off three game points, Kopacz hit through a block to give the Raiders the early lead.  Gordon had three kills and got in on all five of the Raiders' blocks in the frame.
 
In the second set, Gordon gave the Raiders a 6-5 lead before the Ospreys committed back-to-back errors to set up a block by Gordon and Renfree which forced Stockton to call a timeout.  Schuele and sophomore outside hitter Jenna Lara each hit four for six in the game to bring Stockton back to life.  Gordon had four kills on five swings without an error, but momentum shifted solidly to the Ospreys.
 
Schwartz put down eight kills with just one error on 10 attacks in the final two games as Stockton extended its NJAC winning streak to 34 matches which started in the 2010 season.
 
Rutgers-Newark is at Rutgers University-Camden on Thursday for a tri-match with Delaware Valley.  The Scarlet Raiders and Scarlet Raptors play an NJAC match at 4 p.m. before Rutgers-Newark plays a non-conference contest against Delaware Valley at 6 o'clock.