Volleyball Rallies To Defeat Siena in Five Sets at Home Opener

BALTIMORE – Sophomores Miajavon Coleman and Sydney Hicks combined for 42 kills and freshman Ashley Roman finished with 30 digs as the Coppin State volleyball team rallied to defeat Siena College in five sets (22-25, 25-15, 22-25, 25-20, 15-9) on Sunday night at PEC Arena.
 
The Basics
Final Score: Coppin State 3, Siena 2
Records: Coppin State (2-2), Siena (0-1)
Location: Baltimore, Md. (PEC Arena)
Series History: Tied, 1-1
 
First Set

• Coppin got out to an early 4-2 lead with kills by Sydney Hicks and Salma Gonzalez as the duo was targeted early in the match.
• Siena scored two-straight to tie but after a kill by Miajavon Coleman gave the Eagles back the lead at 7-6, Gonzalez served up back-to-back aces to give CSU its largest lead of the frame at 9-6.
• A 4-1 run by the Saints evened the score at ten and the squads traded points until Siena got a kill and a block to take a 19-17 lead and forcing a timeout.
• The stoppage led to a Saints service error and the Eagles tied it back up at 19 on a kill by Hicks.
• After a pair of ties at 20 and 21, Siena went on a 4-1 run to close the frame.

Second Set

• After trading points which kept the score tied at four, Coppin regained a small lead until a kill by Sydney Hicks and two more by Salma Gonzalez made it a 10-7 ballgame and forced a Siena timeout.
• Coppin kept the momentum after the break with seven-straight points with three kills coming off the hand of Hicks.
• Siena finally got a point to cut the Eagles' lead to 18-8, but the Eagles did not look back and took the frame, 25-15 as Brianna Lang finished it off with a sneaky kill off a feed from Khala Cameron.
• Hicks had six kills and Gonzalez recorded five in the frame without recording an error as Lang assisted on 13 of the team's 16 kills.

Third Set

• The teams were virtually even until midway through the set but after a kill by Lauryn Harrell cut the Saints advantage to 14-13, Siena scored three-straight to force a CSU timeout at 17-13.
• CSU battled back to within 23-21 as Miajavon Coleman broke through with three-straight kills.
• A Siena kill made it a set point, but after a Saints service error, the visitors got a kill to take a 2-1 lead for the match.
• Coleman recorded seven kills during the frame and Ashley Roman was credited with nine digs to keep the Eagles in it.

Fourth Set

• Once again, the teams battled for position early in the set, but after a Siena kill cut Coppin's advantage to 15-14, the Eagles went on a 4-1 run to pull away. Miajavon Coleman had another three kills during the stretch, all of which came off pass by Brianna Lang.
• Siena called a timeout and cut the deficit to 21-19, but after a service error and a kill by Lauryn Harrell, the Saints called its second timeout. 
• A poor set gave the Saints possession, but Coppin forced a deciding fifth set after a service error and another kill by Coleman.
• Coleman had another seven kills without recording an error during the set and Ashley Roman had another eight eights, giving her 25 through four sets. The Eagles also had eight total blocks during the frame.

Fifth Set

• After Siena scored the opening point, it was all Coppin as they scored the next four points as Miajavon Coleman recorded a pair of kills.
• CSU maintained a three-point lead until a Saints error made it a 8-4 score as the teams switched sides.
• Sydney Hicks came back alive with a pair of kills in a five-point stretch to force a Saints timeout at 11-6.
• The duo of Hicks and Coleman continued to pour it on with Coleman putting the match away with a pair of kills for CSU's final two points.

Inside the Numbers

• Miajavon Coleman finished the night with 23 kills while hitting .281 to go with 12 digs for a double-double.
• Sydney Hicks had her best collegiate match, recording a career-high 19 kills and .351 hitting percentage.
• Brianna Lang had her first double-double of the season as well, recording 48 assists and 11 digs to go with three blocks.
• Salma Gonzalez was all over the floor as she tallied eight kills, six assists, three aces, ten digs and three blocks.
• Defensively, Ashley Roman recorded a season-high 30 digs which is the second-most in school-history.  Lauryn Harrell added a match-high five total blocks to go with six kills on 12 swings.
• Coppin outhit Siena, .253 to .204 in a toughly contested match.

Up Next: The Eagles will travel out West for the UTEP Borderland Invitational on September 6-7.  Coppin faces the host Miners at 12 pm on Friday before taking on Texas A&M – Corpus Christi at 1 pm the following day.