Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 TOWSON, Md. – During a key moment in the decisive fifth set against Saint Peter's, Coppin State head volleyball coach Ashley Preston told Ariel Richard "Take control. This is your game!"
 
Did she ever.
 
Richard responded to Preston's passionate plea with an immediate kill to give Coppin State a one-point lead it never relinquished in the final set. A few minutes later, Richard delivered a match-ending kill to put the cherry on top of a memorable rally for the Coppin State volleyball team.
 
After dropping the first two sets, Coppin State displayed tremendous heart and poise to outlast Saint Peter's, 3-2, at the SECU Arena in its final match of the two-day Towson Invitational Saturday afternoon. The Eagles claimed the match 25-27, 20-25, 25-19, 26-24, 15-11.
 
For the Eagles, it was a perfect ending to a tough day that started with a 3-1 setback to cross-town rival Towson University. Towson captured the match 25-16, 21-25, 25-18, 25-16. The day almost got worse for Coppin State as it fell behind 2-0 to the winless Peacocks, members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
 
However, they got strong efforts from their core to raise their overall record to 4-3, the best start in program history after seven matches, according to records dating back to 1989. The win was also Preston's 30th as Coppin head coach.
 
Richard concluded the Saint Peter's contest with her second double-double in three matches, and seventh in her career with season-highs in kills (21) and digs (14). Richard upped her career kill total to 983 and is 97 away from becoming the all-time leader in program history. Brittany Alvin holds the current school standard of 1,079 kills.
 
Richard delivered five of her kills in the crucial fifth set as the Peacocks and Eagles went toe-to-toe like heavyweight fighters producing plenty of drama. Each kill was answered with one from the other squad throughout the match that featured 49 ties and 17 lead changes.
 
While Richard was brilliant against Saint Peter's, the tandem of Cindy Okpegbue and Chelsee Sauni were special. Okpegbue and Sauni were named to the Towson Invitational All-Tournament team. Okpegbue, the reigning MEAC Co-Player of the Week, also had 21 kills for the Eagles to up her career total to 626.
 
Sauni dropped a double-nickel of assists (55) to raise her career mark to 2,117.
 
"I am glad we pulled it together as a team," Sauni said following the win against Saint Peter's. "We did a good job of picking up our energy at the end and that helped us. That was a mentally tough match for us. Sometimes, when things seem too easy for us at times; that's when we have to work the hardest. In that match, all the little details mattered for us."
 
Her consistently perfect sets fueled the furnaces burning inside of the Eagles' heavy hitters to deliver some crowd-pleasing kills. In the three games over the weekend, Okpegbue had 52 kills and Sauni had 125 assists.
 
However, no assist and kill was bigger than the one that occurred between Okpegbue and Sauni with Coppin State facing match point, 24-23, in the fourth set. With Saint Peter's serving, Okpegbue finished a long rally by taking a beautiful Sauni set and slamming it to hardwood floor to tie the match and keep the Eagles alive. Coppin State eventually won the fourth set to set the stage for the frenetic finish.
 
Defensively, Bailee Jackson was everywhere for Coppin State as she finished with a match-high and career-best 24 digs. It was Jackson's third time in her last four matches she finished with at least 20 digs. Gabrielle Otero added 18 digs for Coppin State, which finished with a season-high 84 as digs as a team.
 
In the opening match against Towson, Okpegbue had 16 kills and Sauni had 30 assists. Richard had seven kills while Kandace Thomas and Maya Horner finished with six each. Otero led the Eagles with 16 digs.
 
The win against Saint Peter's was a nice way to finish a long day for the Eagles, who played three hours, 39 minutes worth of volleyball in consecutive matches with only a 45-minute break between both matches. Determined to make the short trip across town down the Northern Parkway and Interstate 83 a happy one, the Eagles dug deep to pull out a win that should help them later in the season.
 
Coppin State returns to action Wednesday night when it visits American University. American was ranked 24th in the AVCA preseason top 25 poll after advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 last season.