WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite a combined 33 kills and double-doubles from
Paola Caten and
Miajavon Coleman, the Coppin State volleyball team fell at Howard, 3-1 (28-30, 25-19, 25-17, 25-23) on Sunday afternoon at Burr Gymnasium. The Eagles now stand at 13-10 overall with a 7-4 mark in the MEAC as the Bison improve to 12-11 on the year and 9-2 in league play.
Caten led all players with 17 kills while committing just two errors on 40 swings to hit .375 on the day. A junior from Tampa, Fla., Caten added 14 digs and a pair of blocks while Coleman finished with 16 kills, 12 digs and a season-high five blocks.
Chudear Tut added six kills on the offensive end and was credited with a match-high six blocks.
Andrea Tsvetanova and
Kareemah Hopkins split time at setter with Tsvetanova dishing out 29 assists to Hopkins' 11 to help the Eagles to a .156 hitting percentage. Tsvetanova finished a dig shy of a double-double with nine digs while
Ashley Roman tallied a match-high 25 digs.
In a marathon first set that went into extras, Coppin rallied from a 24-21 deficit to tie it up as Coleman recorded a kill and a block followed by a surprise kill from Tsvetanova. Coleman added back-to-back kills following a Howard kill and added another before Howard tied the score art 27-27. After a Bison kill, CSU took the frame on a kill from Caten before she teamed with Tut for a block.
Howard took control of the second set with an 8-1 run after Coppin forced a pair of errors to tie the score at 12-12. The Eagles scored six of the next nine points to pull within 23-19 but the Bison scored the next two points to tie the match at a set apiece.
The Bison scored the first five points of the third set and Coppin was unable to tie the score, getting no closer than four points.
With the fourth set tied at 19-19, Howard took the match by scoring six of the final ten points, including the first three after the tied score. Tut helped keep CSU alive with a kill and a pair of blocks down the stretch, but Howard got a kill to seal it.
Coppin returns to action on Friday, November 5 when it travels to Maryland Eastern Shore for a 6 pm start. The Eagles will then close the regular season with home matches against Delaware State on November 7 and Morgan State on November 12.
