WASHINGTON, D.C. – Coppin State's volleyball team defeated North Carolina Central, 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-21, 25-22) in the Quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament Friday afternoon at Burr Gymnasium on the campus of Howard University.
The Basics
Final Score: Coppin State 3, NC Central 1
Records: Coppin State (13-17), NC Central (8-24)
Location: Washington, D.C. (Burr Gymnasium)
Series History; Tied at 4-4
First Set
- Coppin got out to a 4-1 lead but a pair of NC Central kills cut the advantage to a single point.
- It remained close until CSU went on a 5-1 run to make it an 11-6 score and Coppin led by as many as ten during the set, finishing it off with a kill from Jordan Celestine at 25-17.
- Celestine, Paola Caten, Miajavon Coleman and Salma Gonzalez all had three kills during the set. Brianna Lang also had three aces in the first.
Second Set
- After a kill from Paola Caten gave Coppin a 1-0 lead, NC Central scored three-straight and took the frame, 25-19 to even the match.
- A 6-0 run by NC Central opened up a big lead before Miajavon Coleman stopped the span with three-straight kills to make it a 15-8 score.
- Coppin pulled to within 19-17 on a kill by Lauryn Harrell but a ball-handling error stopped CSU's momentum and NC Central began to pull away with another three-straight points.
Third Set
- Coppin got out fast with kills from Brianna Lang, Paola Caten and Miajavon Coleman but NC Central bounced back and took a 9-8 lead.
- Back-to-back kills from Caten gave CSU back the advantage, and Coppin scored five-straight to go up 17-11 with two aces from its freshman from Tampa, Fla.
- Central pulled to within three points down the stretch but Christa Johnson helped CSU close it out, 25-21 with two of the team's final four kills.
- CSU hit a whopping .389 for the frame as Lang assisted on 13 of the team's 16 kills. Coleman had four kills while Caten, Gonzalez and Johnson added three each.
Fourth Set
- NC Central got a kill to start but Coppin ran off five-straight points with three aces by Brianna Lang.
- CSU extended its advantage to as many as 13-6 but NC Central did not go away and cut the Coppin's lead to 15-13.
- Miajavon Coleman stepped it up with kills on two of the next three points, extending the advantage back to five points.
- NCCU once again fought back to within three points but a kill by Paola Caten stopped the momentum and Coppin took the set, and the match, 25-22.
Inside the Numbers
- This was Coppin State's first win in the MEAC Tournament since the 2014 season and the 13 victories on the year is the second-most in program history.
- Coppin narrowly outhit NC Central, .286 to .229.
- CSU had three players with double-digit kills, led by Miajavon Coleman's 15 which gives her exactly 400 on the season. Coleman is the first CSU player with a pair of seasons with at least 400 kills. Coleman hit .300 for the match and had seven digs and a pair of blocks.
- Coppin also got 14 kills from Paola Caten and ten from Salma Gonzalez. Caten also had eight digs, a pair of aces and a block while Gonzalez added four digs and a pair of blocks.
- CSU also got offensive contributions from Jordan Celestine (six kills) and Christa Johnson (five kills) as Johnson led Coppin with three blocks.
- Brianna Lang assisted on 48 of the team's 56 kills and finished a dig shy of a double-double. She also continues to climb the CSU record books with six more aces, giving her 53 on the season.
- Ashley Roman was credited with a match-high 16 digs and is just two digs shy of the Coppin single-season record.
Up Next: Coppin will face either Howard or South Carolina State in the MEAC Semifinals at 5 pm on Saturday, November 23 at the Bison's Burr Gymnasium.
