NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State's
Miajavon Coleman was named the MEAC Volleyball Preseason Player of the Year, it was announced by the league office on Wednesday afternoon. Additionally, the Eagles were picked to finish third in the league's Predicted Order of Finish which was voted on by the MEAC's eight head coaches and sports information directors.
Coleman was one of four CSU players named to the Preseason All-MEAC Team as she was joined by seniors
Paola Caten and
Ashley Roman, as well as graduate transfer
Ammaarah Williams.
Howard received nine of 16 first place votes and was picked to win the MEAC, followed by Delaware State with four first place votes and the Eagles. Rounding out the poll were North Carolina Central, Maryland Eastern Shore, Norfolk State, Morgan State and South Carolina State.
A graduate student from San Antonio, Texas, Coleman has already established herself as one of the top players in school-history. Coleman was named the MEAC Player of the Year and CSU's first-ever AVCA All-American following the 2021 season where she led the league in total kills for the third time in her four seasons. Owning the school-record with 1,387 career kills and 1,523 total points, Coleman also ranks seventh in school-history in digs (763) and second with 3.54 kills per set.
Coleman ranks seventh in MEAC history in career kills and is 407 away from the all-time record of 1,794,held by Jana Milin of Maryland Eastern Shore. She also sits fourth in total points, 462 shy of Hampton's Vendula Strakova's all-time mark of 1,985.
Roman is a three-time First Team All-MEAC selection and has been named the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year in each of the last two seasons. A libero from Isabela, Puerto Rico, Roman is Coppin's all-time leader in digs per set, single-season digs and single-game digs and ranks second in school-history with 1,327 career digs. Roman has twice led the conference in digs, ranks 14
th all-time on the MEAC all-time digs list. With 342 more digs, she will surpass Gabrielle Otero for the CSU record which would also put her in third place on the league's all-time list.
A two-time All-MEAC selection, Caten received First Team honors last season after ranking second on the Eagles in kills (305), kills/set (3.05), points (363), points per set (3.63) and service aces (35). She also ranked third on the team with 2.73 digs per set and fourth with 44 blocks. Within the MEAC, she ranked fourth with eight double-doubles, fifth in kills and eighth in aces.
One of the more versatile players in school-history, Caten is nearing the CSU all-time top ten in both kills and digs while ranking sixth in aces, eighth in kills per set and ninth in hitting percentage.
New to Coppin, but certainly not the MEAC, this year is Williams who was named First Team All-Conference the last two seasons while starring at North Carolina Central. A graduate student from Cleveland, Ohio, Williams finished fourth in the MEAC last season in hitting percentage (.319), kills per set (3.07) and blocks per set (0.92) while reaching double-digit kills in 14 matches and four double-doubles. Her .319 career hitting percentage ranks first during the DI era at NCCU.
CSU opens the 2022 season at the Aggie-Spartan Invitational in Greensboro, N.C. on August 26-27 where it will take on North Carolina A&T on Friday night, followed by UNC Greensboro and Bethune-Cookman on Saturday. The Eagles host Loyola Maryland on Tuesday, August 30 at 6 pm.
