Coppin State shocks Florida A&M, advance to finals

Box Score BALTIMORE -- Some may think that the run Coppin State Volleyball is making is nothing but one of those mirages that you only see in a barren desert.
 
Pinch yourselves people, because this is real.
 
With the Lady Eagles 3-2 (25-20, 18-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13) comeback victory over the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Physical Education Complex, Coppin State advances to their first ever MEAC Volleyball Championship match in the history of the program.
 
More firsts and records came along with this win. Among them, Coppin State has won their eighth consecutive match overall and 10th straight home match, which continues to be record breaking. The Lady Eagles have never beaten the Rattlers in volleyball in their previous 14 attempts until Saturday night. Of note, November 1, 1991 was the last time Coppin has taken a game from the Rattlers (in a 3-1 loss) before Saturday night.
 
In addition, Coppin has never seen the .500 mark overall in a season until now. The Lady Eagles broke the team record for points with 84. The previous mark was 78 against Stony Brook on September 17, 2011 and Delaware State on November 4, 2011.
 
"My overall assessment is that my kids are fighters," said Coppin head coach Ashley Preston. "A lot of people kind of counted us out in the beginning of the season and told us we would only make it to fourth place. From the second half of the season, the girls have just rallied, fought, showed their heart and they've really taken ownership of what this means for the university."
 
Coming into this match, the keys for the Eagles were to minimize their errors and find a way to contain Florida A&M's primary hitter in Katherine Huanec. The defense limited Huanec to 15 kills and a .189 hitting percentage for the match. Preston said about the approach, "What I try to do is prepare them early on as it relates to who are their key hitters. Once we focus in on that, it is really what we do on our side of the court. We did our job as it relates to taking care of business from a passing and a defensive standpoint, especially on Katherine."
 
It came down to the fifth and final game that tells the story of the match. Hitting errors help put Coppin State in an early hole to start the game. Ginna Lopez-Chavez started it off for the Rattlers with a kill. Then sophomore outside hitter Cindy Okpegbue pounded one of her career high 30 kills to tie the match at one. Then sophomore middle blocker Kandace Thomas' serve landed out. Junior outside hitter Ariel Richard hit a kill attempt wide and back-to-back kill attempts from Okpegbue went high, giving Florida A&M (15-7) a 5-1 advantage.
 
That forced a Coppin timeout. Coppin responded by scoring six of the next seven points. Richard pounded a kill, then sophomore middle blocker Kendra Ireigbe and Okpegbue blocked Erika Devaughn's kill attempt. Next, Ireigbe put down a kill to force Florida A&M to take a timeout.
 
After the timeout, Devaughn landed a kill attempt too high followed by Okpegbue putting a kill attempt wide. Sophomore setter Chelsee Sauni, who tied the team record for most assists in a match with 57, caught the Rattlers napping with a kill to the frontcourt to give Coppin a 7-6 lead.
 
Florida A&M responded with four straight points. It started with a double block of sophomore outside hitter Nicole Malave's kill attempt by Dei'ja Martin and Yeisha Arcia. The Rattlers outblocked Coppin 14-10 in this match. Next, Martin solo blocked Gabrielle Otero and Richard back-to-back. Last, an ace from Arcia, who led the rattlers with 22 kills on the night, gave Florida A&M a 10-7 lead, forcing a Coppin timeout and rattled nerves from the Coppin supporters.
 
Coppin again responded from the timeout with a 4-1 run. Sophomore outside hitter Denali Sturgeon started it when she blocked Devaughn's kill attempt. Then Thomas contributed with a kill. Martin responded with a kill for FAMU. Next, kills from Thomas and Richard tied the game at 11.
 
FAMU broke back on top on a Huanec kill. However, a kill from Richard and a kill attempt that went into the net from Lopez-Chavez gave Coppin State a 13-12 advantage. Florida A&M called their final timeout of the match.
 
Huanec blasted a kill to the floor off the timeout to tie the match at 13. Then a kill from Okpegbue gave Coppin State (15-15) a match point at 14-13.
 
Finally, Coppin State ended the match in their most typical way this season. Yeisha Arcia's kill attempt was blocked to the floor by Richard to finish the match. Coppin supporters began storming the floor after the play.
 
"When we went out today, I was saying we have to win this game. Because we've never been in the championship and we've always been talking about how we are going to fight to win this championship," said Okpegbue, who was two kills short of the all time single kills mark set by Indira Laurencin against Bethune-Cookman on October 15, 2006. "So knowing that there was a really big block, I was going to show that just because there's a big block out there doesn't mean we can't do anything with it. So I have to play the way I know how to play."
 
When asked to compare tonight's meeting with the rattlers to last season's 3-0 MEAC quarterfinal loss, Sauni said, "Our team has definitely matured since last year. Our mindset wasn't really there in the beginning. There are a whole lot of players that have never been in a championship match before. I think that was preparation for this year."
 
Coppin State athletic director Derrick Ramsey took it all in and was excited for the opportunity that Coppin Volleyball has before them. "What this means for Coppin State athletics? Not only is this our first time (playing in the championship), but you got to keep in mind that Florida A&M, for the last 15 years, has been Goliath in our conference when it comes to volleyball," said Ramsey. "A point of reference, from 2000 to 2009, they were our conference champs year after year after year. And so having said that, for us to beat this team, a team last year for our first appearance in some time, they went through us like water. For us to come back and get an opportunity to avenge what occurred last year was monumental for this program. I'm very, very proud of Coach Preston and the job she did with her young ladies tonight to get us over this milestone."
 
Another milestone awaits on Sunday afternoon as Coppin State takes on Hampton in the MEAC Volleyball Championship finals at 12 Noon inside the Physical Education Complex.