WASHINGTON, D.C. – Coppin State's volleyball team could not put rival Howard away as the Bison won the last three sets to take the match, 3-2 (27-29, 19-25, 25-23, 25-19, 16-14) on Friday night at Burr Gymnasium. The Eagles now stand at 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the MEAC while the Bison even their record at 2-2 on the year and 1-1 in league play.
Four Eagles finished with double digit kills as
Jordan Celestine and
Salma Gonzalez led the way with 11 each.
Miajavon Coleman and
Chudear Tut had ten kills apiece.
Sydney Hicks added seven kills. Celestine also led Coppin with three blocks while Gonzalez finished a dig shy of a double-double.
Kareemah Hopkins led all players with 42 assists to go with three kills and seven digs, but the Eagles were outhit .228 to .184 for the match.
Ashley Roman was credited with a match-high 27 digs which included a whopping 12 digs in the opening set, and a career-high three kills from the libero position.
Both teams struggled in the service game as Coppin had 13 service aces and 13 service errors. Howard committed 20 service errors and five receiving errors.
Howard led for most of the opening set and held a 17-13 lead before Coppin went on a 5-1 run to tie it at 18-18. The teams traded points and Howard forced a set point three different times but came up empty. After a Bison service error tied the score at 27-27, the Eagles put it away with kills by Coleman and Gonzalez.
Clinging to a 15-14 lead, Coppin put some distance between the teams with four-straight points which included a kill by Celestine and three Howard errors. The Bison cut the deficit to as little as 21-18, but Coppin closed the set on a 4-1 run to take a 2-0 advantage.
The Bison led early in the third set, but CSU battled back to tie it up after falling four points behind. Coppin was never able to get over the hump in the frame as Howard took the set, 25-23.
Howard led, 11-8 in the fourth, but Coppin regrouped for six-straight points to take a 14-11 lead. The Bison bounced back, however, tying the set at 18-18 and capped off a 4-0 run to take a 20-18 advantage. After a kill by Gonzalez, Howard scored five-straight points to win, 25-19, and force a fifth set.
The fifth set nearly got away from Coppin, who fell behind, 9-2, but battled back with a 4-0 run. Howard answered back with two-straight points and held a match-point at 14-8. After a kill by Gonzalez, CSU forced three-straight errors before an ace and a kill by Roman tied it up at 14-14. After a service error, the Bison took the match on a kill.
The Eagles will need to bounce back quickly as they make the short trek across town to play UMBC at 2 pm on Sunday, February 21.
