Written for The Argo by Rachel Rolle

On October 18, Women’s Stockton Volleyball continued their 9-game winning streak, beating William Patterson 3-0. With the NJAC tournament underway, the team looks more than prepared to take on undefeated Rowan University. Women’s volleyball is just behind them with a 6-1 record.

The Ospreys started off slow this season with a 0-3 record, losing to Rowan seniors early in the season. This year’s lineup consisted mainly of freshmen, including Kate Louer (OH), Camille De La Torre (RS), Paige Anania (DS), and Regan Mendick (S). Now that the freshman players are adjusting to their roles and Green–who was injured last year– has returned, they have been on a winning streak. 

Outsider hitters Green and Louer are performing very well this season. Green leads the conference in kills and Louer has been named NJAC’s Rookie of the week three times. Additionally, sophomores Teleyah Witherspoon (MH) and Jaylah Rolle (MH) are ranked in the top 5 for the NJAC blocks. Junior Molly Eng (L) is ranked 3rd in the NJAC conference in digs; she stepped into the libero position after Sophia Marziello graduated last year.

This winning streak is partially attributed to Coach Alison Walker. “Coach Ally is a good recruiter… [and] has consistently produced winners,” says Phil Kenning. Kenning was the assistant coach for women’s volleyball from 2009 to 2011 and coached for the Men’s Volleyball Club from 2007 to 2019.

Once Walker started coaching for Stockton in 2006, she won her first NJAC conference championship within two years. From there, the program has produced 10 NJAC championships. 

This is the first time “half of the roster has turned over… of the nine key players; four are new and one [Green] is back from an injury… it’s a pretty big deal ” says Kenning.

To stay updated with women’s volleyball, their schedule can be found here: https://stocktonathletics.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule?path=wvball