Strong Finish Propels Volleyball To 1-0 In MEAC With Sweep Of Norfolk State

NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State used a 9-1 third set rally to shock the Spartans and leave Virginia in the win column. The Eagles dominated Norfolk in the first two sets, before relying on the frantic comeback in the third to put the Spartans away.
 
The Basics

• Final Score: Coppin State 3, Norfolk State 0
• Records: Coppin State 5-14 (1-0 MEAC), Norfolk State 1-10 (0-1 MEAC)
• Location: Norfolk, VA – Gill Gymnasium
• Series History: Coppin State Leads 19-14

 
How It Happened
First Set

• Two kills each by Miajavon Coleman and Asia Stennis, plus an ace from Brianna Lang and Marlena Guice, helped jumpstart the Eagles to an 8-4 advantage.
• Norfolk would fight back, using two kills from Daiysa Burrell and Bojana Bolozan to shrink the gap at 11-10.
• The Spartans were able to tie it up at 17 after three Lady Eagles mistakes while holding a 16-13 lead.
• CSU would rattle off an 8-3 run to wrap up a wire-to-wire 25-20 opening set win.
• Coppin would rip 13 kills in the first set while only committing one error for an absurd .600 hitting percentage.
• Coleman was a perfect six for six on her kill attempts.

Second Set

• NSU made sure it would not trail for the entirety of this set as well, jumping out to a 5-3 upper hand before a Coppin State timeout.
• The timeout was just what the doctor ordered for Walsh's crew, as it pushed past the Spartans on a 10-3 run to stall the Spartans attack.
• After a Norfolk timeout, the Spartans started to find some life, with four consecutive Spartans kills to trim the lead to 13-12 Coppin.
• The Lady Eagles would respond again with a 12-6 rally, burying the Spartans into a 2-0 hole with a 25-18 second set.
• CSU logged 26 kills over the first two sets, with Coleman leading the pack with 10.

Third Set

• Norfolk State would start strong for the second successive set, putting up nine points compared to Coppin's five. The Spartans were aided by six CSU errors on its surge.
• Coppin slowly made a game of it, crawling back within two at 12-10.
• Norfolk would slow the Coppin comeback, adding four more to the board to take a five-point advantage 16-11.
• CSU would return the favor with a 3-0 push to move within two.
• Just when it looked like NSU would run away with it at 22-16, a 9-1 Eagles charge put an exclamation point on a thrilling third set win and a sweep to start the MEAC season.

Inside the Numbers

• Coppin was killing it in Gill Gymnasium, accumulating 38 kills for an average of 12.6 kills per set.
• CSU totaled 14 block assists in the contest and seven blocks overall.
• Brianna Lang came up clutch for the Lady Eagles leading the team with 30 assists and 10 digs to record her fourth double-double in six games.
• Miajavon Coleman continued her scorching hot past three weeks, striking 10 or more kills in five continuous matches and seven of the team's last eight.
• Coleman hit a robust .536 against the Spartans, topped only by her .688 performance against The Citadel, back in August.
• Lauryn Harrell chipped in with seven kills while Jordan Celestine had five kills to pair with three blocks.
• Chelsie Kolibar finished the match with a respectable nine digs, finishing second on the squad.
• Norfolk State was led in kills by Anna Rupertova (9), assists via Halley McKnight (17), and digs from Taylor Eichelberger (8).

Who's Next?

• Coppin State volleyball will make the short trek to face the three-time defending MEAC champion Howard Bison on Sunday afternoon. The match will take place at Burr Gymnasium in Washington D.C. at 3 p.m.