BALTIMORE – Under third-year coach
Ashley Preston, the Coppin State volleyball team has managed to do plenty of terrific things and create lots of special memories.
In addition to four players holding school records, Coppin State has set a program standard for wins in a single season, participated in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship match and recorded its third consecutive double-digit win campaign. It's the first time in CSU volleyball history that the Eagles have posted three straight seasons of at least 10 wins.
Now, as the Eagles (10-10 overall, 4-3 MEAC North) prepare to hit the road for their annual Virginia excursion to face Hampton (11-9, 6-0) and Norfolk State (0-19, 0-7), Preston has something else she would like to check off of her to-do list.
"In the past two years that I've been here, we're 0-4 going to Virginia to play Norfolk and Hampton," Preston said. "The key for us this weekend is going to be our passing, serving and running our offense effectively."
The good thing for Preston and the Eagles is they have been victorious in their last two road matches. The Eagles defeated Maryland Eastern Shore 3-2 on October 5 and Delaware State 3-0 on October 10. Coppin State has won three of its last four matches overall following a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Morgan State this past Sunday.
Junior
Cindy Okpegbue fueled the Eagles' fire. She finished with a match-high 18 kills for the second consecutive time. She was one of four Coppin State players to finish with double-digit kills in the win over the Lady Bears.
Ariel Richard complemented Okpegbue with 13 kills.
Maya Horner added 11 kills and
Kendra Ireigbe collected 10 digs and three blocks.
Defensively, the tandem of
Gabrielle Otero (19 digs) and
Bailee Jackson (10) helped the Eagles, which received 53 assists from
Chelsee Sauni (seven digs).
Jasmine Burton and
Nicole Malave-Adams also combined for 13 digs for Coppin State.
The Eagles split a pair of matches against Hampton and Norfolk State earlier this season. Coppin State beat Norfolk State, 3-1, on Sept. 28. The Eagles lost 3-2 to the reigning MEAC champion Lady Pirates on Oct. 3.
Hampton enters the match having won six of its last seven contests, including Sunday's 3-0 victory over Norfolk State. In that victory, senior rightside Vendula Strakova led the way with 14 kills, leaving her just four kills shy of tying the program's all-time career kills record. Strakova also leads the nation in total kills with 434.
Hampton senior outside hitters Krista Kraskura and Sonja Maksimovic each had eight kills, and Kraskura added a team-high 10 digs. Maksimovic hit .412 for the match, and senior middle blocker Marija Kocevska hit .667 with five kills and just one error. The Lady Pirates hit .310 (40 kills, 14 errors in 84 attacks) for the match.
In the first matchup three weeks ago, Okpegbue and Strakova treated the fans to a great display of their brilliance. They matched each other kill-for-kill as Strakova finished with 27 and Okpegbue had 25. It was the volleyball equivalent of LeBron James and Kevin Durant playing one-on-one.
"It's always fun playing Hampton," Preston said. "We need to focus on minimizing our errors. We're still fighting to be competitive and be in the top four (of the MEAC Northern Division)."
Meanwhile, Norfolk State was led against Hampton by junior Angie Darcus and freshman Clarke Tyler leading the way with five kills each. Darcus also had 12 digs for the Spartans, which has lost their last four matches by 3-0 scores. For the season, Jessica Johnson leads the Lady Spartans with 165 kills. However, she hasn't played since Oct. 3 against Morgan State.
Following this weekend trip, there will be two weeks remaining in the regular season. The Eagles are home next weekend against Delaware State and Maryland Eastern Shore.
