DOVER, Del. – Ashley Roman matched a school-record for digs and both
Paola Caten and
Miajavon Coleman notched double-doubles to lead the Coppin State volleyball team to a 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 21-25, 15-11) victory over Delaware State on Thursday night at Memorial Hall. The win solidifies the Eagles' position of first place in the Northern Division at 7-4 overall and 6-1 in the MEAC.
A sophomore from Isabela, Puerto Rico, Roman recorded a match-high 32 digs, tying the existing record held by Gabrielle Otero which was set against Lafayette on September 9, 2011. Roman's 32 digs were the second time that she had over 30 digs in a single-match and she now ranks sixth in school-history with 710 career digs.
Paola Caten recorded a match-high 19 kills and added 16 digs along with three aces to accumulate 22 points on the night. Caten also hit an impressive .286 while Coleman added 17 kills, ten digs and a pair of blocks.
Chudear Tut also recorded double digit kills with ten and blocked a pair of Delaware State attempts.
Salma Gonzalez chipped in with seven kills, 13 digs and a pair of aces as
Jordan Celestine added six kills.
Kareemah Hopkins led all players with 48 assists along with seven digs and four kills while Coppin hit .190 for the match. Delaware State outhit the Eagles with a .229 hitting percentage and held a 10-3 advantage in blocks.
The Hornets shot a blistering .325 in the first set, but Coppin hung in there with four aces and four kills by Caten. A late 4-0 run by the Hornets gave them a 23-21 advantage and forced a timeout. Tut answered with a kill but DSU took the opening frame with a pair of kills.
Coppin put some distance between the teams with a 4-1 run midway through the second set to go up 17-13. The Eagles maintained the four-point lead which prompted a Hornets timeout and Caten answered a DSU kill with one of her own. After a pair of Hornets points, Coleman tied the match up with a kill.
The Eagles trailed 16-10 in the third set but fought back with a 5-1 spurt, featuring a kill and an ace by Caten and forcing a timeout. Delaware State recorded a pair of points out of the stoppage, but Coppin got a kill from Coleman and forced a DSU error. After a Hornets kill made it 20-17 in favor of the hosts, Coppin regrouped as Coleman sandwiched an ace by Gonzalez with a pair of kills to tie it up. Once again, Delaware State came right back and took a 22-20 lead, but Coleman had two more kills on either end of a Caten kill to force another timeout. Coleman served up an ace to force a set point and Caten finished the set off with a kill.
Delaware State rallied from a 7-3 deficit in the fourth set to tie it up and then scored three-straight points to go up 13-10 and force a CSU timeout. The Eagles were unable to get any closer than two points the remainder of the frame.
In the deciding set, Coppin ran off six-straight points with kills by Tut and Caten to lead 9-4 and force a timeout. Hopkins recorded a kill out of the break and Coppin remained in control until the Hornets made a last ditch effort to pull within 13-10. Coleman sealed it out of the break with a pair of kills.
The same two teams will meet again on Friday, March 19 in a 6 pm start at Coppin's PEC Arena.
