ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Junior
Bailee Jackson led the Coppin State attack with five kills, but Delaware downed the Eagles in straight-sets (25-9, 25-21, 25-12) on Friday, August 26 in Wesley A. Brown Fieldhouse.
In their season opener at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational hosted by Navy, Coppin State's volleyball team got off to a slow start in the opening set against Delaware. The Eagles struggled offensively with only two kills that went along with four errors while the Blue Hens rallied off 13 kills of their own. With minimum attacks against the Delaware defense Coppin State fell 25-9.
Coppin State turned things around in the second set with strong play.
Bailee Jackson led the way with three kills while both junior
Guro Froberg and sophomore
Marlena Guice each had two kills in that set. The Eagles connected on 10 kills that were set up by freshman
Dominique Madarang. Madarang recorded nine assists and scored a kill. Freshman
Jasmine Lougheed sparked the lineup with two kills on two attacks also in that set. Both teams battled but in the end Delaware came out on top, 25-21.
After a hard fought middle set the Eagles fell back into a slump in the third. The Blue Hens reclaimed the momentum and hammered out 13 kills to only three by the Eagles and closed out the match with a 25-12 win. Jackson, Madarang, and Lougheed were the Eagles with kills in the final set and junior
Valiyah Barnes scored on a solo block.
Bailee Jackson paced the Eagles with five kills, four blocks and two blocks assisted. She was also the only Eagle to record a service ace against the Blue Hens. Newcomers
Guro Froberg and
Jasmine Lougheed both finished with three kills while
Dominique Madarang and
Marlena Guice each had a pair. Madarang finished with a team-high ten assists in her debut.
Defensively,
Glorines Rosado and Froberg both had eight digs a piece as Coppin State finished with 29 total. A bright spot for the Eagles was their interior play at the net. CSU finished with five team blocks to the Blue Hen's three. The trio of Barnes, Froberg, and Jackson each had two blocks assisted in the season opener.
Coppin State will play tournament-host Navy in their next game on Saturday, August 27
th at 11 a.m. After the matchup with Navy the Eagles take on New Hampshire at 4:30 p.m. to close out the Kristen Dickmann Invitational.
