NORFOLK, Va. – Ashley Roman matched her own school-record with 32 digs as Coppin State's volleyball team swept NC Central, 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-19) in the MEAC Semifinals on Friday night at Echols Hall.
CSU, who has won a school-record ten-straight matches and improves to a program-best 11-4 record, advances to its first Championship Match since 2013 when it faces North Carolina A&T at 6 pm on Saturday, April 3.
Head Coach
Tim Walsh, who is in his fourth season as Eagles coach, now has 40 career wins at Coppin, matching Ashley Preston for the most in school-history.
A sophomore from Isabela, P.R., Roman, the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year had ten digs in the first set, nine in the second and 13 in the third to record 32 digs for the second time this season. Roman easily broke the 3-set record held by
Gabrielle Otero and her 32 digs are the third-most in the Nation for any player during a three-set match.
Miajavon Coleman led all players with 14 kills, followed by MEAC Rookie of the Year
Chudear Tut with eight.
Kyndall Johnson had a season-high five kills, followed by
Kareemah Hopkins with four and both
Sydney Hicks and
Paola Caten with three. Hopkins assisted on 31 of the team's 40 kills as Coppin outhit NC Central, .137 to .015.
Elsewhere on the defensive end, Caten recorded ten digs while Tut was credited with five blocks, all of which came in the opening set.
In the opening set, Coppin got out to a quick start as Tut recorded four blocks and a kill to give Coppin an 8-3 lead. NC Central did not go away, however, as it pulled to within 14-13 to force a CSU timeout. Tut came right out of the break with a kill and added another block to extend the advantage back to 20-15, but once again NCCU battled back to 24-23 with a 4-0 run. Tut put an end to the rally with a set-sealing kill.
With the second set tied at 10-10 following an NC Central ace, Coleman took over with five kills during a 12-3 CSU run which was capped off with an ace by
DeMia Goddard. NCCU scored three of the next four points but Hicks recorded a kill off a pass from
Sydney Sheppard and Coppin forced a NC Central error to take the set.
Coppin led from start to finish in the third and final set, putting some distance between the teams with an 8-2 run midway through the frame. NC Central put together a last-ditch effort to pull within 17-14 before Coleman came up with a kill and a pair of blocks to make it a 21-14 score and seal the win.
