Coppin Wins Heart-Stopper, 3-2 Over Norfolk

BALTIMORE, Md. – CSU nearly let a huge match slip away but battled back to win a crucial conference clash over Norfolk State. The win earned the Eagles a season sweep of the Spartans and brings the team one step closer to securing a spot in the MEAC Tournament.
 
The Basics

• Final Score: Coppin State 3, Norfolk State 2
• Records: Coppin State 8-18 (3-3 MEAC) / Norfolk State 2-14 (1-5 MEAC)
• Location: Baltimore, MD – Physical Education Complex Arena
• Series History: Coppin State Leads 20-14

How It Happened

First Set

• A seesaw affair arose early in the first set, with Coppin taking an 8-5 advantage over the first quarter.
• Norfolk would use a 6-0 surge to steal the home team's thunder and take a 14-11 lead.
• CSU matched the Spartans attack with a 7-1 spurt of its own to retake control 18-15.
• The Spartans would answer that run with another prolonged scoring streak, providing its own 7-1 spark, to swing the lead back to three in favor of the Green and Gold.
• The two sides would alternate set points for what seemed like an eternity, until two Lady Eagles errors downed the home team in a 32-30 loss.
• The 62 points combined between the two was the longest set by far for the Eagles, with the previous high taking place in a 56-point battle with UMBC on September 25.
• NSU and CSU made everyone in the crowd pay attention all set long, as they accounted for 15 ties and seven lead changes throughout the first frame.
• Asia Stennis was the key cog in the Eagles machine to start the match, smashing seven kills and hitting .385 for the first set.

Second Set

• Norfolk State looked to be on the verge of taking a firm grip on the second set when it churned out a 9-4 advantage out of the gates.
• Coppin was not going to roll over for the visitors from Virginia, putting together an 12-3 response to roar back for a 16-12 lead.
• The next seven points would pinball between the two squads until NSU strung two together to inch closer at 19-17.
• Each side contributed a 3-0 run to the cause before senior Marlena Guice put an exclamation point on a 25-23 series tying kill.
• Brianna Lang notched a double-double halfway through the second set, ending the second with 27 assists and 10 digs already to her name.

Third Set

• After CSU knotted the third set at threes, NSU won six of the next eight points to take a 9-5 upper-hand.
• Coppin offered a rebuttal, reeling off five straight to retake the lead, 10-9.
• The two MEAC North foes kept matching each other run for until Norfolk made sure to end it earlier than the first set, outscoring Coppin 5-1 after a 20-20 tie, to stun the Eagles and take the crucial 2-1 set advantage.

Fourth Set

• Coppin looked like it was in serious jeopardy of getting buried, with Norfolk cruising to a five-point cushion at 11-6.
• The resilient Lady Eagles had other ideas, fighting tooth and nail to even the score at 14.
• An 8-3 NSU rally was a troubling development for the home squad and pushed the Eagles backs to the wall, three points away from letting this one slip out of its grasp.
• The fighting mentality of the Baltimore birds was on full display for the PEC crowd, accumulating eight of the last nine points in the fourth to force a deciding fifth set 25-23.

Fifth Set

• Coppin State went into the court switch with a respectable 8-5 edge, with three kills coming from Stennis.
• A 6-1 push by the Green team had the home faithful nervous, as Norfolk had swung the pendulum 180 degrees in its favor.
• Tim Walsh called a timeout and rallied his troops to dig deep, and they rewarded their leader with a 6-1 charge to end the match and escape with a 15-12 match deciding victory.

Inside the Numbers

• Senior Marlena Guice amassed four kills and four digs in her Senior Night performance.
• Miajavon Coleman continues to amaze this year, as she set a new season-high with five blocks, hit .321 on the night, all while notching her fourth 20-kill performance in the last five matches.
• Coleman now has five instances of 20 or more kills in her freshman campaign.
• Brianna Lang has decided that double-doubles will be her forte as of late, piling up 54 assists and 16 digs to pace the Eagles in both categories, and compiling her sixth double-double in nine previous appearances.
• Christa Johnson had herself quite a match, rejecting seven Spartan attacks, setting a new career-high in for blocks in the process.
• Chelsie Kolibar got back into her groove, garnering 12 digs to give her 10 or more in her past six of seven games played.
• Asia Stennis has done most of her work under the radar for the Lady Eagles, knocking down double-digit kill totals in 13 matches in 2018, including another 15 against the Spartans.
• Taylor Eichelberger earned herself a double-double for NSU with a well-rounded 11 kills and 10 digs.
• Anna Rupertova was the top attacker for Norfolk, hitting 15 kills.
• Four Spartans accounted for 10 or more digs on the match, led by Jill Aquino (13) and followed by Halley McKnight (11), Jazmine Craig (11), and Eichelberger (10).
• The duo of McKnight and Aquino each made plenty of opportunities for their teammates, setting up assists on 21 and 17 points, respectively.

Who's Next?

• CSU will play its home finale on Sunday afternoon when it faces the Howard Bison who are undefeated in conference play. First serve at 3 p.m.