DOVER, Del. – Coppin State's volleyball team held late leads in the fourth and fifth sets but were unable to finish off Delaware State who rallied to win, 3-2 (25-20, 19-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13) on Friday night at Memorial Hall.
The Basics
Final Score: Coppin State 2, Delaware State 3
Records: Coppin State (11-17, 7-7 MEAC), Delaware State (12-17, 7-7 MEAC)
Location: Dover, Del. (Memorial Hall)
First Set
- Tied at 15-15, Delaware State scored three-straight and held off the Eagles who got no closer than two points the rest of the frame.
- Coppin got to within 20-18 on a kill by Jordan Celestine, but the Hornets closed the frame on a 5-2 run with a pair of kills and a pair of CSU errors in the service game.
Second Set
- A pair of Brianna Lang aces helped Coppin get out to a 3-0 lead but Delaware State responded with three-straight of their own.
- The set stayed close but after a DSU kill tied the score at 10-10, the Eagles scored six-straight with a pair of kills from Paola Caten to go up 16-10.
- After a DSU timeout, the Hornets fought back to tie the score at 17-17 but CSU answered with a 6-1 run to extend the lead back to 23-18.
- Following a Coppin error, Lauryn Harrell recorded a kill which was followed by a block by Miajavon Coleman and Jordan Celestine to finish the frame, 25-19.
Third Set
- Coppin got out to a 6-0 lead with kills from Jordan Celestine, Miajavon Coleman and Christa Johnson as well as an ace from Ashley Roman.
- The Eagles held Delaware State at bay the remainder of the frame as the Hornets got no closer than three points the rest of the set.
Fourth Set
- Delaware State got out well, taking a 5-1 lead but Coppin responded with a 6-1 run to go up, 7-6 with a pair of blocks by Lauryn Harrell.
- With the frame tied at 11-11, CSU scored four-straight with a pair of Sydney Hicks kills to force a DSU timeout.
- Hicks had two more kills out of the break to put Coppin up, 17-11, but the Hornets responded with three-straight to cut the deficit to 17-14 and force an Eagles timeout
- Coppin built the lead back to 21-16 and 23-18, but the hosts closed out the set on a 7-0 run.
Fifth Set
- The teams played even early on but after Delaware State took a 7-6 lead, Coppin socred three-straight to go up 9-7.
- The Hornets answered with a 4-0 run to force an Eagles timeout at 11-9 and CSU battled back to tie the score at 12 and force a DSU timeout.
- After trading points, Delaware State got a pair of kills to win the set and match, 15-13.
Inside the Numbers
- Coppin was led by Paola Caten who recorded 16 kills with 12 digs for a double-double while hitting .293. Miajavon Coleman also finished in double digit kills with ten to go with a team-high three blocks but hit just .081.
- Middle hitters Jordan Celestine (nine) and Christa Johnson (seven) combined for 16 kills and had two blocks each. Johnson had just one attack error.
- Brianna Lang also finished with a double-double 44 assists and 11 digs along with four service aces.
- Ashley Roman led all players with 16 digs and Asia Stennis added nine.
- Coppin outhit Delaware State, .243 to .209 but allowed the Hornets to record 15 service aces compared to ten for the Eagles.
Up Next: Coppin faces a must-win on Sunday, November 17 when it travels Maryland Eastern Shore for a 3 pm first serve.
