BALTIMORE, Md. – CSU stormed back from an 0-2 deficit behind historic performances from
Brianna Lang and
Miajavon Coleman, en route to a 3-2 (20-25, 24-26, 25-17, 25-22, 15-11) stunning victory over North Carolina Central in the opening match of the Charm City Classic Presented by THB Bagels & Deli.
Brianna Lang broke a four-year record with 64 assists beating out the previous mark by three, while
Miajavon Coleman moved into the record books by tallying 29 kills. The performance marked the third best kill total for an individual match in program history.
The Basics
- Final Score: Coppin State 3, North Carolina Central 2
- Records: Coppin State 3-12 (0-0 MEAC), North Carolina Central 1-8 (0-0 MEAC)
- Location: Baltimore, MD – Physical Education Complex Arena
- Series History: Series Tied 3-3
How It Happened
First Set
- Coppin fell in an early 4-0 hole and could never recover.
- NCCU held the lead the entire way while building a lead no bigger than five, but CSU would never break even again, falling 25-20.
Second Set
- Coppin State would start out slow again, falling behind 8-4.
- CSU would charge back to tie it up at 10-10 thanks to three kills by Coleman.
- The lead would change hands multiple times over the course of the set, with a 24-24 tie broken by two attack errors and a North Carolina Central second set triumph.
Third Set
- The seesaw affair continued over into the third set, with both Eagles squads failing to gain separation.
- A Coppin timeout up 12-11 sparked a huge rally for the home team, as it raced out to seven-point advantage and coasted to a comfortable 25-17 third set rebuttal.
Fourth Set
- Once again, Coppin and Central clawed its way through an evenly contested affair, with 10 ties and 7 lead changes.
- Coleman made her presence known, with an eye-opening nine kills and carried the offensive attack for the resilient Coppin State team.
- CSU was remarkably efficient in the fourth set, converting on 16 of 29 attack attempts (.310 hitting percentage) to force a definitive fifth set.
Fifth Set
- The fifth set started off ominously for Coppin as through the halfway point it had only tallied two kills compared to 5 errors.
- Once the teams switched sides, the lightbulb switched on for CSU, recording seven kills and zero errors, including the emphatic final blow by Asia Stennis to ignite the enthusiastic opening day crowd.
Inside the Numbers
- Brianna Lang surpassed Chelsee Sauni for the single match assist record, which was previously set in 2014 against La Salle.
- Lang's 64 assists have been nationally recognized, as it accounted for the third most assists in a match for the entire NCAA up to this point in the season.
- Brianna added to her hot stretch, as this was her second consecutive double-double and co-led the team in digs with 17.
- Miajavon Coleman moved past Brittany Arvin for third all-time in kills for a single match for Coppin, falling three shy of the leader Indira Laurencin (32).
- The CSU Eagles spread the wealth in regard to kills as five different players smashed seven kills or more, with Coleman (29) and Stennis (16).
- Christa Johnson took advantage of the opportunities given, posting a season-high eight kills, six blocks, while shredding NCCU for a .636 hitting percentage.
- Chelsie Kolibar was another Coppin player to hit a season-high, as she contributed 17 digs on the day to share the team lead with Lang.
- Arlanda Faulkner and Jessica Pilivi fronted the charge for North Carolina Central, with 15 and 11 kills respectively.
Who's Next?
- CSU gets a short reprieve before battling South Carolina State tonight at 7 p.m.
