BALTIMORE – Coppin State's volleyball team clinched at least a share of the MEAC Northern Division title with a 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-14) victory over Delaware State on Friday night at PEC Arena. Winning their first-ever regular season crown, the Eagles have now won seven-straight matches and are 8-4 on the season and 7-1 in league play.
Chudear Tut led the way for Coppin, recording ten kills while hitting .292 along with a season-high seven total blocks.
Miajavon Coleman led all players with 11 kills to go with six digs and a pair of blocks while hitting .175.
Elsewhere on the attack,
Paola Caten added seven kills,
Salma Gonzalez finished with four and
Jordan Celestine chipped in with three.
Kareemah Hopkins assisted on a match-high 30 kills as the Eagles outhit Delaware State, .184 to .133.
On the defensive side of the ball,
Ashley Roman led all players with 21 digs while Gonzalez came up big with a career-high 16 digs. Caten also had seven digs on the night.
Delaware State took the opening set while hitting a whopping .243 while Coppin struggled, recording a -.034 hitting percentage. The Hornets pulled away midway through the frame with a 3-0 run to take a 19-13 lead. Coppin got to within four points twice the rest of the way but DSU took the opener with a pair of kills.
The intermission between sets worked immediate dividends for the Eagles who hit an impressive .364 in the second set, recording 14 kills with just two errors. A kill by Tut started the frame, and after a DSU kill followed an ace by Gonzalez, Coppin ran off five-straight points, featuring a pair of kills by Tut and even one by Roman on an overpass. DSU got as close as 21-18, but Tut responded with back-to-back kills, followed by a pair of DSU errors to tie the match after two.
The Hornets opened the third set with a kill, but Coppin answered with a 5-0 run. Delaware State fought back to tie the set at 6-6, forcing a CSU timeout and the Eagles answered with a pair of kills by Coleman and an ace by
Khala Cameron. Following two-straight Delaware State points, Coppin began to put distance between them with another 5-0 run. The Hornets did not go away so easily as they pulled to within a single point, but a pair of late errors gave the Eagles the victory in the third.
Coppin never trailed in the fourth and deciding set as it got out to a quick 5-1 lead and took a commanding 13-7 advantage with another 5-1 run. Delaware State answered with three-straight to cut the deficit to 13-10, but the Eagles pulled away with a 9-0 run, starting and finishing with kills from Tut, who also had three blocks during the stretch.
The Eagles will have a chance to win the Northern Division outright as they host Morgan State in their final two regular season games on Monday, March 22 and Sunday, March 28. Both matches are scheduled to start at 6 pm from PEC Arena.
