DOVER, Del. – Fueled by a total of 53 kills, Coppin State cruised past host Delaware State, 3-0, in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division volleyball match at Memorial Hall Friday night.
Coppin State (9-9 overall, 3-2 MEAC North) won its second consecutive match. Coppin State had three players finish with double-digit kills for the second time in its last three matches. The Eagles enjoyed a season-best .538 hitting percentage for the match. This was the Eagles' third consecutive match in which they finished with at least 50 kills as a team.
Leading Coppin State's lean-mean killing machine was junior
Kendra Ireigbe, who had a season-high 13 kills along with an insane .929 hitting percentage.
Senior
Nicole Malave-Adams also enjoyed a memorable performance by smashing a season-high 11 kills to go along with a .391 hitting percentage. Junior
Cindy Okpegbue joined the double-digit kill party with 10 on 17 attacks (.588 hitting percentage). She also contributed eight digs.
Senior
Kandace Thomas was her usual stellar self with nine kills and a .692 hitting percentage. She entered the match against the Hornets second in the MEAC in hitting percentage. Senior
Ariel Richard added eight kills to raise her career total to 1,118. Overall, the quintet of Ireigbe, Malave-Adams, Okpegbue, Thomas and Richard combined for 96.2 percent of the Eagles kills.
Junior setter
Chelsee Sauni had a blast setting up her teammates throughout the match. She finished with 42 of Coppin State's 48 assists on the evening. Sauni also had Coppin State's two other kills and its only service ace of the match. Senior
Gabrielle Otero had a team-high 15 digs. Overall, seven different Eagle players finished with at least one dig against the Hornets.
Coppin State controlled this match from the start. The Eagles trailed once at 1-0 in the opening set. The first set featured seven ties, the last occurring at 17-17. A Thomas kill gave Coppin State the lead for good, 18-17. The Eagles opened the second set by scoring the first four points. They scored the first three points of the third set.
Jasmine Jackson led Delaware State (0-15 overall, 0-5 MEAC North) with 10 kills. The setting tandem of Taylor Marshall (18 assists) and Natalia Mendieta combined for 31 assists for the Lady Hornets.
Heading into Sunday's home showdown against Howard, the Eagles have won three of their last four matches. The match starts at 3 p.m. and it's the Eagles' annual "Dig Pink" match. Delaware State hosts Norfolk State Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
