BALTIMORE – Even though the bones are aching, the bodies are sore and the muscles are burning, the sight of the ultimate goal for the Coppin State volleyball team coming into clear focus eases the pain.
The Eagles enter the penultimate weekend of its regular season schedule with a pair of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) home matches against Delaware State on Friday night at 7 p.m. and Maryland Eastern Shore on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. Friday's contest is a Blackout event and all fans are encouraged to wear black. The first 25 fans will receive a "Relentless Pursuit" t-shirt.
Following road matches next weekend against New Jersey Tech and Howard, the Eagles will host the MEAC tournament from Friday, Nov. 21 through Sunday, Nov. 23. Coppin State has focused all season on its single goal of winning the MEAC championship.
Despite the ups and downs of the first 22 matches, the Eagles confidently believe their best is yet to come.
It'll also be a festive and bittersweet weekend for the Eagles as they will celebrate and honor seniors
Kandace Thomas,
Ariel Richard,
Gabrielle Otero and
Nicole Malave-Adams prior to its match against UMES. They have laid the foundation for the greatest era in the history of the Coppin State volleyball program.
Thomas (hitting percentage), Otero (digs) and Richard (kills) will depart as the all-time leaders in their signature categories. Junior
Chelsee Sauni already holds the all-time school record in assists. Third-year head coach
Ashley Preston will add her name to the list of school record holders with the Eagles' next victory.
With 37 wins since she took over the program in 2012, Preston is currently tied with Linda Mitchell, who coached the Eagles from 1987-1993, for most wins by a Coppin State volleyball coach. While Preston has been fortunate to coach some talented and driven players during her time at Coppin State, she has relentlessly recruited quality student-athletes, built the program with a passionate fierceness while helping the Eagles accomplish things never done before her arrival.
Coppin State has won double digit matches for the third consecutive year, a program first. The Eagles started the season 2-0 for the first time ever. They also defeated UMBC twice in a six-day period. While all those achievements are nice and will be part of reunion celebrations years from now, the Eagles are focused on the immediate future of finishing the regular season with a flourish.
Sitting in third place in the Northern Division, the Eagles will clinch a playoff spot with two wins in their last three MEAC matches. The Eagles defeated UMES, 3-2, on Oct. 5 and Delaware State, 3-0, on Oct.10. Against the Hawks, Coppin State had to overcome a 2-1 deficit to claim victory.
Coppin State enters this weekend having captured victories in two of its previous three outings, including Sunday's 3-1 victory over Norfolk State. In that match, the Eagles finished with a season-high 24 blocks. Junior
Kendra Ireigbe and freshman
Maya Horner had a team-high seven blocks each.
Ireigbe was a dominant force against the Spartans Sunday. In addition to her blocking show, Ireigbe had a team-high 12 kills along with an insane .683 hitting percentage. She has four double-digit kill performances in her last five games. Junior
Cindy Okpegbue had 10 kills for the Eagles.
Thomas leads the MEAC in hitting percentage (.342). Otero leads the MEAC with 113 digs while Sauni's 916 assists are tops in the conference. Sauni has delivered 91.3 percent of the Eagles' 1,003 assists for the season.
Delaware State and UMES enter this weekend coming off 3-0 losses to Howard. The Hornets only victory of the season was against Norfolk State. UMES is still in a battle with Morgan State and Coppin State for a playoff spot. UMES and Delaware State are second and fifth in the conference, respectively in blocks per set.
UMES senior Ksenia Sukhareva was the premier attacker for the Hawks with seven total kills against Howard and fellow senior Lauren Berry led the Hawks offensive players in attack percentage, contributing six kills at a success rate of 55.6 percent. The Hawks have been led this season by Haley Robinson, who is seventh in the MEAC in hitting percentage (.261) and Alana Polk, who is second in the conference in blocks (1.90).
For Delaware State, Jae Jackson topped the Hornets with nine kills on 18 attacks (.444). Alliyah McBean and Jasmine Jackson had a team-high seven digs. Delaware State tallied 14 blocks in the contest, tops for a three-set match this season. Ariana Stevens led all players with seven blocks and Nevershi Ellis had a career-high five blocks for the Hornets. Jackson is eighth in the conference in kills (2.85) and 10th in blocks (0.75). Stevens is seventh in the MEAC in blocks (0.81).
