Coppin Struggles To Contain Howard In Home Finale

BALTIMORE, Md. – The Coppin State volleyball team were unable to contain the powerhouse Howard Bison in its final home game, falling in straight sets Sunday afternoon.
 
The Basics

• Final Score: Coppin State 0, Howard 3
• Records: Coppin State 8-19 (3-4 MEAC) / Howard 15-9 (7-0 MEAC)
• Location: Baltimore, MD – Physical Education Complex Arena
• Series History: Howard Leads 62-4

How It Happened

First Set

• CSU struck first blood, shocking the Bison with an 8-2 punch in the mouth.
• Howard would prove why its been the gold standard in the MEAC for years, outscoring Coppin 16-4 including a 6-0 surge to take the wind out of the Eagles' sails.
• HU cruised to victory from there, stunning CSU with a 25-17 come-from-behind win.

Second Set

• The second set became a war of runs as Howard used a 5-0 run to jump ahead 5-2, before a Coppin run of 4-0 shifted the score back in the Eagles favor. Howard would build a 12-7 cushion off a 7-1 surge, before Coppin answered again using a 9-2 spurt of its own to make it 16-14 home team.
• The Lady Bison had one more sustained rally in them, putting 11 of the final 15 points on the scoreboard, to win the back-and-forth affair 25-20.

Third Set

• Coppin begun the set on fire for a third consecutive time, putting together an 8-0 run, culminating in an 8-4 lead.
• Howard would pull even, and the two teams would remain relatively close for the majority, with the final tie of the match coming at 20 all.
• The Bison finally put the nail in the coffin for the inexperienced Eagles, riding five straight kills to end the contest and gain a series sweep, 25-20.

Inside the Numbers

• Christa Johnson continued her blocking prowess, denying 5 Howard strikes, giving her 12 blocks in two matches over the weekend.
• Jordan Celestine had a stellar day, hitting .273 with five kills and three blocks for a well-rounded afternoon.
• Six separate CSU players blocked at least one shot, with Johnson leading the way, followed by Lauryn Harrell (4), Celestine (3), and Asia Stennis (3).
• The Eagles as a team swatted 10 blocks, the third such occurrence this season.
• Chelsie Kolibar continued to rack up double-digit digs, as she has reached the threshold in more than 50% of the teams' matches (14 of 27) after tallying 11 against the Bison.
• Stennis led Coppin State in kills with seven.
• The Bison front line was fronted by Kia Porter and Kailyn Williams, who blasted 13 and 10 kills, respectively.
• Porter was sensational in her precision, hitting .571 on 21 attack attempts.
• Senior setter Tamia Dockery continued her dominant campaign, averaging 11.33 assists per set.
• Libero Fola Wilson achieved double-digit digs with 10.
• HU collected 11 blocks on the afternoon, piling up 20 block assists.

Who's Next?

• The Lady Eagles will forgo trick-or-treating this year, as it makes a non-conference trip to Teaneck, New Jersey to battle Fairleigh Dickinson. The match begins at 5 p.m.