BALTIMORE – Behind a season-high 13 service aces, the Coppin State volleyball team won its MEAC opener with a straight-set (25-21, 25-20, 25-22) victory over Delaware State on Friday night at PEC Arena. The 13 aces were Coppin's most in a 3-set match since it had 13 at Norfolk State on October 25, 2002.
The Basics
Final Scores: Coppin State 3, Delaware State 0
Records: Coppin State (4-10, 1-0 MEAC), Delaware State (5-10, 0-1 MEAC)
Location: Baltimore, Md. (PEC Arena)
Series History: Delaware State Leads, 45-22
First Set
- Delaware State scored the first three points of the match but Coppin rallied and eventually tied the score at 8-8.
- The teams traded points before a pair of service aces by Miajavon Coleman helped give the Eagles a 14-10 lead.
- DSU fought back with a 4-0 run to tie the score but a pair of Hornets errors gave CSU a 16-14 advantage.
- A Delaware State kill cut it to a single point but kills by Sydney Hicks and Jordan Celestine along with an ace by Paola Caten put Coppin on top, 20-16.
- Brianna Lang served up an ace for force a set-point, but DSU called timeout and answered with a point before a kill by Christa Johnson gave CSU the 25-21 victory.
Second Set
- DSU got out to a quick start once again and led 10-6 to force a Coppin State timeout.
- Coppin fought back to pull within, 11-10, but the Hornets responded and upped their lead back to 16-12.
- The Eagles got a block from Christa Johnson and Salma Gonzalez to start a 4-0 run to tie the score at 16 and force a DSU timeout.
- After trading blocks, Coppin took its first lead since the first point of the frame on a kill by Sydney Hicks.
- Hicks added another kill, as did Miajavon Coleman to put CSU up 21-19 and force another Hornets timeout, but it was not enough to stop the Eagles who took the set, 25-20.
Third Set
- Coppin got out to the fast start in the third set and opened with a 3-1 lead thanks to a pair of aces by Brianna Lang.
- Delaware State responded and took a two-point lead at 7-5 but the Eagles got kills from Sydney Hicks and Jordan Celestine before the duo combined for a block to give CSU back the lead at 8-7.
- With CSU clinging to an 11-10 advantage, the Eagles went on a 5-1 run with three kills from Miajavon Coleman and aces by Lang and DeMia Goddard.
- DSU called a timeout and used a long run to tie the score at 20, 21 and 22.
- Coleman's eighth kill of the frame gave Coppin a 23-22 lead, and after a Hornets timeout, the Eagles closed the match with an ace by Lang and a block from Christa Johnson and Paola Caten.
Inside the Numbers
- Brianna Lang was credited with a career-high five service aces as Coppin's 13 aces were the most since they had an identical 13 in a 3-1 victory over Manhattan on September 1, 2018. Lang also dished out 35 assists as the Eagles outhit Delaware State, .269 to .237, along with two kills and four digs.
- Miajavon Coleman led all players with 14 kills on 31 swings for a .290 hitting percentage to go with a pair of aces. Sydney Hicks also had double-digit kills with 11 while hitting .333 for the match.
- Jordan Celestine and Salma Gonzalez contributed well on both ends of the court as Celestine recorded six kills to Gonzalez' four without an error. Both players had a team-high three blocks apiece, just ahead of a pair from Christa Johnson.
- Ashley Roman finished with a match-high 14 digs for the Eagles.
- CSU has now won four-straight against Delaware State and 14 of the last 17 meetings since the 2011 season.
Up Next: Coppin hosts Maryland Eastern Shore at 3 pm on Sunday, September 29.
