FAIRFAX, Va. – Coppin State's volleyball team showcased a balanced attack with four players reaching double digits in kills as the Eagles defeated George Mason, 3-1 (25-16, 26-24, 24-26, 26-24) in its season opener on Saturday afternoon at the RAC. The Patriots fall to 0-3 on the season.
Miajavon Coleman led all players with 15 kills and five aces while hitting .220 to record 21.5 points for the match.
Salma Gonzalez was just behind her with 12 kills and hit .259 while
Jordan Celestine added ten kills. Elsewhere on the offensive end,
Paola Caten and
Kareemah Hopkins had four kills each but Hopkins dished out a match-high 43 assists and three aces, quarterbacking the CSU attack to a .221 team hitting percentage.
In her collegiate debut,
Chudear Tut hit a whopping .476 with 11 kills and just one error on 21 swings while tying for a team-high four blocks.
Ashley Roman led all players on the defensive end with 22 digs while Caten reached double figures with 11 digs. Hopkins was just one dig shy of a double-double in her Coppin debut and Coleman added eight digs. At the net, Hopkins and Celestine matched Tut with four total blocks.
The Eagles comfortably took the first set despite dropping the opening point, responding with kills by Caten and Coleman. George Mason was able to pull within a single point several times in the opening set, but CSU used an 8-3 run to pull away and scored four of the final five points to take the opener, 25-16.
After falling behind, 8-6, to start the second, the Eagles scored six-straight points behind three aces by Coleman to go back up, 12-8. The Patriots were able to get back into it, tying the frame at 15 and again at 24, but kills by Gonzalez and Coleman gave CSU a commanding two-set lead.
George Mason led for much of the third set at held a 20-15 advantage and continued to hold on to a 23-20 lead later in the set. Coleman started and punctuated a 4-0 CSU run to give the Eagles a 24-23 advantage, but the Patriots scored the final three points to extend the match to a fourth set.
Behind a pair of kills by Coleman Tut, along with a pair of aces by Caten, CSU opened the fourth set on a 7-0 run. GMU was able to slowly cut into the deficit and at one point led 23-22. Caten tied it back up with a kill, and following a CSU error, Tut added another kill to tie it once again at 24-24. Tut and Hopkins were able to combine on a block to give Coppin back the advantage and GMU was unable to respond as an attack error gave Coppin the victory.
CSU returns to action on Thursday, February 11-12 when it hosts Delaware State in back-to-back 6 pm MEAC matches at PEC Arena.
