SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Coppin State's volleyball team took the second set but fell to Middle Tennessee, 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 25-15), in a toughly contested final match of the Hampton Inn-vitational at Bryant University Saturday afternoon.
The Basics
- Final Score: Coppin State 1, Middle Tennessee 3
- Records: Coppin State 2-10 (0-0 MEAC), Middle Tennessee 3-6 (0-0 C-USA)
- Location: Smithfield, R.I. – Chace Athletic Center
- Series History: Middle Tennessee leads, 1-0
How It Happened
First Set
- The opening frame stayed close through the first half with CSU taking its largest lead at 10-8.
- Middle Tennesse responded to tie the score but with the count at 14-all, the Raiders scored four-straight to take an 18-14 lead.
- Coppin battled back to cut the deficit to 21-20 on a kill by Asia Stennis but Middle Tennessee closed it out with four-straight points.
Second Set
- Trailing 11-7, Coppin rallied with six-straight points to take a 13-11 lead. Brianna Lang and Jordan Celestine came up big during the run with back-to-back blocks on MTSU's Aubrie Huddleston.
- The Raiders got back to within one at 13-12, but CSU went on a 5-1 run with Stennis notching a pair of kills.
- Miajavon Coleman helped Coppin shut the door with three kills and a block in the final stages of the frame.
- Coppin hit a whopping .423 for the set with 12 kills on 26 swings while holding the Raiders to a miniscule .034.
Third Set
- Middle Tennessee got out to an early lead which Coppin quickly erased.
- A 7-2 CSU run gave the Eagles its largest lead at 14-10 but the Raiders fought back to tie the score at 17 to force a timeout.
- The teams traded points after the break but with Coppin leading 21-20, MTSU went on a 5-1 run to go ahead two sets to one.
Fourth Set
- The Raiders scored the first three points of the set and Coppin was able to get as close as 9-7 after a kill by Stennis.
- Three-straight MTSU kills forced a timeout and Christa Johnson stopped the bleeding with a kill.
- Middle Tennessee regrouped quickly with five-straight points to make it a 17-8 score.
- A kill by Coleman, followed by blocks by Harrell and Celestine cut it to 17-10 but that would be as close as Coppin would get the remainder of the deciding set.
Inside the Numbers
- Asia Stennis led all players with 20 kills while hitting .292 and also was credited with seven digs and a block.
- Miajavon Coleman hit an impressive .344 with 12 kills and just one error on 32 swings. Coleman also had four digs and a block.
- Jordan Celestine and Lauryn Harrell had five kills apiece with Celestine finishing with a team-high five blocks. Harrell also had four blocks, as did Christa Johnson who contributed offensively with four kills.
- Brianna Lang quarterbacked the offense to a .220 percentage with 39 assists, and also played a factor defensively, with six digs and a pair of blocks.
- Chelsie Kolibar had a match-high 13 digs.
- Coppin finished the tournament strong with 9.0 blocks against the Raiders.
Who's Next?
- Coppin State returns to the court next weekend at the Dig The District Tournament co-hosted by Georgetown and George Washington University. The Eagles will take on Hampton (1 pm) and Alabama A&M (4 pm) on September 14 at Georgetown, followed by matches against Memphis (11 am) and the host Colonials (7 pm) on September 15.
