Women's Volleyball | 11/14/2014 9:31:00 PM
BALTIMORE – Five Coppin State volleyball players earned recognition on the 2014 All Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) team. All honors were voted on by the MEAC's head volleyball coaches and sports information directors.
Junior outside hitter
Cindy Okpegbue was named to the first team. Seniors
Gabrielle Otero,
Kandace Thomas and
Ariel Richard earned second team recognition. Junior setter
Chelsee Sauni was named to the third team. This is the second consecutive year that Okpegbue, Thomas and Otero earned All-MEAC honors.
Coppin State's five All-MEAC selections were the most of any conference school.
Together, they helped the Eagles enjoy a record-setting campaign. During the season, Coppin State tied a program record for most regular season victories with 13, finished the regular season with a winning record for the first time in the 27-year history of the program, started the year 2-0 for the first time in program history and beat UMBC for the first time ever.
Coppin State finished third overall in the MEAC Northern Division with a 7-5 conference mark. The Eagles will meet Bethune-Cookman in the quarterfinals of the MEAC tournament on Friday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m. in the Physical Education Center Arena.
Hampton senior Vendula Strakova was named the 2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Year, Florida A&M's Pamela Soriano earned Rookie of the Year honors and Howard head coach Shaun Kupferberg was selected the Coach of the Year.
Joining Okpegbue, Strakova and Soriano on the 2014 All-MEAC First Team is Florida A&M's Ginna Lopez-Chavez and Joanie Del Castillo, Hampton's Kitija Megne and Assata Conway of Howard.
The 2014 MEAC Volleyball Tournament begins Friday, November 21 at 10 a.m. The competition continues on Saturday with the semifinal matches scheduled at noon and 3:30 p.m.
The volleyball championship tournament will conclude on Sunday, November 23, beginning at noon and will telecast live on ESPN3 and tape-delayed on ESPNU beginning at 9 p.m.
For more information on the 2014 MEAC Volleyball Championship and for complete results, log on to www.MEACsports.com
Here's a closer look at Coppin State's All-MEAC honorees:
Cindy Okpegbue: She led the Eagles in total kills with 387, which is 45th overall in the NCAA. In addition, she's third in the conference and 68th nationally in kills per set (3.79). Okpegbue was named MEAC Co-Player of the Week and to the La Salle, Towson and UMBC all-tournament teams. She had double digit kills in 21 matches this season, which raised her career total to 41. Okpegbue had at least 20 kills in a match this season seven times and nine times in her career. She recorded her second career double-double (20 kills, 11 digs) in a win over Norfolk State on Sept. 28.
Kandace Thomas: She is second in the MEAC in hitting percentage (.331). She is the all-time program leader in hitting percentage with a .282 average. Thomas was named to the UMBC all-tournament team. She finished with a hitting percentage above .400 eight times this season. She had a season-high .692 hitting percentage against Delaware State on October 10. She also had a .615 hitting percentage and season-high 18 kills against La Salle on August 30. For the season, she had eight matches with double-digit kills.
Gabrielle Otero: Otero leads the MEAC with 4.17 digs per set. Otero is Coppin State's all-time leader in digs with 1,628. Overall, Otero finished the season with 23 matches in which she posted double-digits in digs. Her 430 digs lead the Eagles and the conference. She had a season best 30 digs against La Salle on August 30. She had 20 or more digs five times this season in a match.
Ariel Richard: She is second on the Eagles with 316 kills. Richard is sixth in the MEAC in hitting percentage (.265) and fifth in kills per set (3.04). She finished with 15 double-digit kill matches this season. Her season-high is 22 kills which she did against Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 2. She also had 12 digs in that match. Richard had a streak of six straight double-digit kill performances from Sept. 10-Oct. 10. She recorded three doubles this season against La Salle (11 kills, 11 digs), St. Peter's (21 kills, 14 digs) and UMES (22 kills, 12 digs). She has 18 double-doubles in her stellar career. Richard has 61 matches in which she's finished with double-digit kills in her career. For the season, Richard has three matches in which she collected at least 20 or more kills.
Chelsee Sauni: She leads the MEAC and is 27th nationally in total assists (1,090) and 76th in assists per set (10.48). She became CSU's all-time leader in assists in program history against UMES on Oct. 5. Sauni has 2,903 career assists. She also became the all-time single season record holder in assists against NJIT on Nov. 7. Her 1,090 assists surpassed her mark she set last year when she finished with 1,045. She earned all-tournament honors at the Towson Invitational after delivering 55 assists, the second most in a single match in her career. She has handed out at least 40 or more assists 17 times this season and delivered at least 50 six times this season. Her season and career best is 61 assists against Manhattan, which was also a Coppin State single-match record. Sauni is second in the MEAC in assists per set (10.48).
