BALTIMORE – The competition has been relentless, ruthless and fierce for the Coppin State volleyball team under first-year head coach
Kyetta May.
Despite the setbacks against a savage slate of competitors with a combined record of 36-8 (81.4 winning percentage), Coppin State is continuing to confidently forge ahead. The Lady Eagles, despite their 0-6 record has left an impression on their opponents as they have received sterling compliments from coaches of the University of Tennessee and Baylor.
"We're feeling pretty good," Coppin State senior outside hitter
Cindy Okpegbue said. "Playing schools from bigger conferences has allowed us to work on on the things we need to fix as a team so that we'll be ready for conference play. We've learned a lot of new things and playing these schools have helped us perform at a higher level. We've grown a lot as a team."
Coppin State will enjoy the comforts of playing within city limits this weekend when it competes in the Maddie Bingaman Tournament hosted by UMBC on Saturday. The Lady Eagles will meet Rider (4-4 overall) at 12:30 p.m. and host UMBC (3-4) at 5:30 p.m. at the RAC. Live stats will be provided for both games. There will be no video streams.
Including its first match against Rider on Saturday, Coppin State's opening seven opponents have entered the match with overall records at or above .500.
Last season, the Lady Eagles defeated UMBC twice. Coppin State beat UMBC, 3-0, in this tournament last year and then turned the trick a week later, 3-2, at the University of Arizona Tournament. It was Coppin State's first victories over the Retrievers in program history.
Rider will be the second Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) team that Coppin State will meet this season. The Lady Eagles lost 3-1 to Manhattan in their season opener on August 28.
Through two weeks of the season, Coppin State has four players ranked among the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) leaders. Senior
Kendra Ireigbe is third in the conference in blocks per set (0.95). She has 250 career blocks. Her performance is the reason why Coppin State is ranked third in the conference as a team in blocks.
Senior
Chelsee Sauni is sixth in the MEAC in assists per game (7.37). She had 22 against Baylor last weekend. In two matches against UMBC last season, Sauni averaged 41.5 assists per match.
Okpegbue, who is closing in on 1,000 career kills, is eighth in the conference in kills per set (3.05) and ninth in points per set (3.39). She enters the weekend with 978 career kills. During her magnificent career, Okpegbue has finished with double-digit kills in 45 matches. Okpegbue had 23 kills in two matches against UMBC last season.
Sophomore libero Glory Rosado has zipped across the court this season like a gnat with turbochargers. Following her career-best 24-dig effort against Sam Houston State, Rosado is fifth in the MEAC in digs per set (3.89). She has finished with at least 20 digs twice this season.
"We're still confident even though we've played a challenging schedule," Rosado said. "We're excited about competing this weekend. Our chemistry is getting better and we're improving with each match."
Here's a quick look at Coppin State's competition this weekend:
ABOUT RIDER (4-4): Rider defeated Iona, 3-0, Wednesday night as Kaitlyn Griffin finished with eight kills and a .421 attack percentage. Also for the Broncs, sophomore setter
Veronica Koval had 16 assists with fellow setter, senior
Brandie Hill adding 13 assists and two service aces. Sophomore libero
Emma Aldaya had 22 digs with junior outside hitter
Ryan Ackermann adding 10 digs. For the season, Hill and Koval average 9.66 assists per set together. Griffin was a preseason All-MAAC honoree. She leads the Broncs with 25 blocks, 2.62 kills per set and a .314 attack percentage.
ABOUT UMBC (3-4): Freshman
Maddie Schneider paced UMBC during a 3-1 loss to Howard on Tuesday night with 18 kills and 10 digs. McKenzie Morgen and
Krystal Williams had nine kills each. Senior
Paige Miller chipped in 28 assists for the Retrievers. Schneider earned America East Player and Rookie of the Week on Aug. 31 for her performance at the RMU Invitational. Schneider finished with 36 kills and 17 digs. Schneider leads UMBC with 85 kills while Morgen has 62. Williams has 60 kills. Miller and Claudia Lopez run the offense for UMBC as they have combined for 221 assists.
