HAMPTON, Va. – In the immortal words of the late Yogi Berra, "It was Déjà Vu All Over Again" for the Coppin State volleyball team.
For the second consecutive season in its first meeting against Hampton, Coppin State sprinted to victories in the first two games only to have the Lady Pirates rally and send the match into a decisive fifth set. Last season's first contest ended in heartbreak for Coppin State, which ultimately dropped all three meetings to Hampton.
This time, Coppin State flipped the script. The Lady Eagles found a way to conquer adversity, a charged-up crowd and a determined Hampton squad looking for its first victory of 2015 to head up traggic-clogged Interstate 95 North with a win to remember.
In a beautiful display of purpose, pride, poise, perseverance and power, Coppin State defeated Hampton, 3-2, in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division thriller at Holland Hall Sunday afternoon. It was Coppin State's first win at Hampton since Sept. 30, 2005, a span of 3,649 days.
More importantly, the 25-21, 25-23, 16-25, 32-34, 15-8 triumph helped Coppin State enjoy its first road sweep of Norfolk State and Hampton in program history. The Lady Eagles (5-8 overall) extended their winning streak to four matches. They are 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2012.
Make no mistake, this win was special for Coppin State, which had its season terminated in each of the last two years by Hampton in the MEAC Tournament.
Senior
Cindy Okpegbue, the reigning MEAC Player of the Week, paced Coppin State with 16 kills and nine digs. She was also efficient leading the way with a .293 hitting percentage. Okpegbue upped her career kill total to 1,070. She is 10 away from surpassing Brittany Arvin and moving into second place all-time in CSU history. Okpegbue has recorded double-digit kills in a match 51 times.
As usual, Coppin State's balance, physical fitness, toughness and depth proved to be the difference as it swooshed to the finish line with the savage fury of Muhammad Ali pummeling Sonny Listen by scoring 12 of the final 15 points of the match to erase a 5-3 deficit in the fifth set.
Tag-teaming Hampton with a flurry of powerful kills were freshman
Samantha Polk and sophomore
Bailee Jackson with 13 each. For Polk, it was her third double-digit kill contest this season.
Meanwhile, Jackson had her second double-double of the season as she complemented her effort with 11 digs and a team-high five blocks. She has recorded double-digit digs in five consecutive matches and six of Coppin State's last seven contests.
Senior
Denali Sturgeon ended a strong weekend with eight kills. Senior
Kendra Ireigbe had six kills and four blocks. Senior
Chelsee Sauni was her usual fantastic self with her fifth double-double of the season (47 assists, 11 digs and four blocks).
Sophomore Glory Rosado was a human dust-mop again finishing with a team-high 24 digs, the fourth time this season she has collected at least 20 in a match this season. She also chipped in with six timely assists throughout the five-set affair.
Coppin State overcame Hampton's Reeana Richardson, who enjoyed a 28-kill and .451 hitting percentage performance. Brianna Lilly had a match-high 51 assists.
The Lady Eagles will return to action Sunday afternoon when it hosts MEAC preseason favorite Howard in their home opener. The match begins at 3:00 p.m.
