Norfolk, VA - Coppin State Volleyball (1-16, 1-0) began MEAC conference play today by ending a 20 game losing streak and by defeating the Spartans of Norfolk State (3-11, 0-1) in four sets 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-23). The win marks first-year head coach
Timothy Walsh first victory as the leader of the volleyball program. Coppin's last win was a 3-2 victory against Norfolk State October 21, 2016.
In the first set, the Spartans struck first with a 2-0 lead before Coppin battled back to tie the match at three after a kill by
Angel Jamerson from
Asia Stennis and a kill by
Valiyah Barnes from Jamerson. Both teams would continue to trade points as Norfolk maintained a 7-6 lead before Coppin went on a three point run to take the lead 9-7. The Lady Eagles would benefit from
Christa Johnson and
Glorines Rosado kills to inch ahead. Coppin would continue to maintain a two point lead until the Spartans tied the match at 13. The two teams would tie the score at 14, 17, 18, and 19 before Norfolk took control of the set after a Coppin error. With a 19-20 score in Norfolk's favor, the Eagles would be outscored 6-2 and lose the first set 21-25.
The Lady Eagles would keep their composure and knuckle down in the second set. After falling behind 5-4, Coppin would benefit from a Norfolk error and a
Jennifer Gell service ace to take a 6-5 lead. Coppin would later produce a nine point run, the longest of the season, which included several Norfolk errors and a service ace by
Marlena Guice and kills by Jamerson, Jackson, and Barnes. With a 15-7 lead, the Lady Eagles would tally a couple more points and then begin another three point run to extend the lead 20-9. Norfolk State would battle back and close the gap to a 23-16 Coppin lead. The Lady Eagles in turn would close out the set 25-16 by scoring the final two points off a Spartan error and another service ace by Guice.
Coppin kept up their momentum and started the third set with a strong 4-1 score. Coppin again benefitted from Norfolk attack errors and blocks from Jamerson and Barnes. Guice also served up her third ace of the game for the fourth point. The Spartans would close the distance to a 5-4 lead, but The Lady Eagles would go on a 5-1 run to boast a 10-5 lead. Norfolk would again begin to chip away, but Coppin would outscore Norfolk 6-5 to augment its lead 16-10 and force a Spartan timeout. Coppin would then call its own timeout when the score crept to 17-13. Following Norfolk's 14
th point, Coppin would begin an 8-2 run which included multiple kills by
Asia Stennis to seal the third set victory.
With the Lady Eagles up 2-1 for the first time this season, winning the fourth and final set would be their biggest challenge this match. Both teams would literally trade points and tie the score 15 different times. The team effort and determination would pay off when the Lady Eagles, with the score tied 23-23 would benefit again by a Spartan service error to go up one. With their first win on the line, Norfolk would commit an attack error which included a block by Guice to secure Coppin's first win of the season.
UP NEXT
The Lady Eagles return to action and conference play on Sunday, October 1, when they face the Hampton Pirates (6-11) at 3pm.
