BALTIMORE – The Coppin State volleyball team has an opportunity to end the regular season by sweeping rival Morgan State when the teams collide Sunday afternoon at Hill Field House in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) grudge match beginning at 3:00 p.m.
Coppin State (9-13 overall, 6-5 MEAC) will also have a chance to spoil Morgan State's Senior Day festivities. In addition as an added bonus, the Lady Eagles could have an opportunity to prevent the Bears (11-13, 8-2) from earning the Northern Division's top seed for the MEAC Tournament, which begins on November 20-22 at Maryland Eastern Shore.
Morgan State, winners of four consecutive matches, could win the regular season Northern Division title with wins this weekend at Howard and against Coppin State. Morgan State defeated Howard earlier this season. If both teams end with identical 10-2 MEAC marks, Morgan State would get the nod because it would have swept Howard this season.
While Morgan and Howard fight for the top spot, Coppin State enters the match knowing it will be the Northern Division's No. 4 seed in the MEAC Tournament. The Lady Eagles will battle Southern Division regular season champion Bethune-Cookman in the MEAC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 20 at 4:00 p.m. for the third consecutive season.
Coppin State's regular season finale is still meaningful.
"Every time we step on the floor, we want to win," Coppin State coach
Kyetta May said. "It doesn't matter if a win or loss won't improve our seeding. We have some objectives we want to accomplish and one of them is playing well and generating some momentum heading into the postseason. I know we'll play hard."
With a victory, Coppin State would reach double-digit regular season wins for the fourth consecutive season, a program first. The Lady Eagles want to fly into the tournament with momentum. And, let's face it, beating Morgan State is always fun. The two teams engaged in a classic struggle on Oct. 16 at Coppin State. The Lady Eagles prevailed, 3-2.
However, Coppin State has wobbled slightly since that match winning two of its last five matches. Coppin State has been fueled all season by the brilliance of seniors
Cindy Okpegbue and
Chelsee Sauni.
Okpegbue is on the verge of history. With 1,219 career kills, Okpegbue is five away from surpassing
Ariel Richard and becoming the all-time leader in program history. Okpegbue has finished with double-digit kills in nine of the Lady Eagles' 11 matches against MEAC foes. She has collected at least 16 kills in eight of the 11 conference matches. She has double-digit kills in seven of her last eight matches including four consecutive contests.
Currently, Okpegbue leads the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in kills per set (3.78) and points per set (4.28). In addition, the affable sports medicine major is 80th nationally in points per set, 81st in kills per set and 99th in total attacks.
Okpegbue's teammate senior
Chelsee Sauni also leads the MEAC in assists per set (9.42). Sophomore Glory Rosado is third in the conference in digs per set (4.06).
In the first meeting against Morgan State, Okpegbue had 21 kills. Freshman
Samantha Polk (15 kills, 10 digs), sophomore
Bailee Jackson (11 kills, 10 digs) and Sauni (52 assists, 11 digs) finished with double-doubles.
Morgan State rode the performances of MEAC Player of the Week Carmen Fernandez to a pair of wins last weekend at UMES and Delaware State. Fernandez averaged a double-double of 38 assists and 10.5 digs. The heavy hitters for the Bears include Keanna Brown (237 kills), Arianna Hayden (207 kills) and Evely Macedo (185 kills).
The MEAC will release the official tournament pairings and brackets at a later date.
