BALTIMORE – Ashley Roman broke the school-record for career digs as Coppin State's volleyball team held on for a 3-2 (25-12, 25-16, 24-26, 22-25, 15-5) MEAC victory over North Carolina Central on Sunday afternoon at PEC Arena. With the win, CSU improves to 11-7 on the season and 2-0 in league play while NC Central falls to 2-10 with a 1-1 MEAC record.
Inside the Numbers
- Roman tallied a match-high 21 digs, giving her 1,673 career digs, while adding another three aces. She surpassed Gabrielle Otero ('14) on the CSU all-time list and she now stands third in MEAC history in the category. Roman is just three digs shy of Ashley Johnson (North Carolina A&T '15) for second on the league's all-time list
- Miajavon Coleman tied for a match-high 20 kills on .348 swinging and added 17 digs for a double-double and a pair of blocks. Her 20 kills were a season high.
- Hope Casel added 14 kills while hitting .333 while Ammaarah Williams recorded eight kills, 11 digs and a career-high six service aces against her former team.
- Geraldyn Palacios and Yaniris Miller-Green both have seven kills and two blocks apiece.
- Andrea Tsvetanova assisted on 50 of the team's 62 kills and added seven digs and three aces, giving her a NCAA-leading 56 on the season. Her 56 aces are one shy of the CSU single-season record held by Candis Johnson ('01).
- Tsvetanova also recorded five kills to mark a career-high as Coppin outhit NC Central, .299 to .219.
First Set
- Coppin looked to pull away early with a 5-0 run to take a 7-3 lead which featured a pair of kills by Williams and an ace from Roman.
- NC Central pulled to within two points on three occasions but CSU closed the set with nine-straight points as Coleman tallied three kills followed by three-straight aces from Williams.
- The Navy & Gold hit a whopping .542 in the set, recording 14 kills on 24 swings with just one error.
Second Set
- An 8-1 run by Coppin extended its lead to 13-5 as Williams tacked on a kill and two more aces during the stretch.
- The teams played virtually even the rest of the frame as CSU held NC Central at bay.
Third Set
- NC Central turned an 8-6 deficit into a 12-9 lead and looked to pull away at 18-13.
- CSU responded by turning on the defense, forcing a pair of errors before a kill from Tsvetanova. After a Central kill, Coppin scored six of the next seven to take a 22-20 lead as Tsvetanova added another kill and an ace.
- The Red & Black scored three-straight points following a timeout to retake the lead, and after trading points, scored consecutive points to force a fourth set.
Fourth Set
- NC Central got out to an early 5-1 lead and never looked back.
- Coppin pulled to within 12-11 but was unable to tie the score as Central extended its lead to as many as five.
- CSU once again was able to pull within a single point, twice down the stretch, but were unable to get over the hump.
Fifth Set
- The deciding set was all Coppin from start to finish as Tsvetanova opened the frame with an ace, followed by kills from Casel and Coleman to make it a 4-0 score.
- After a Central kill made it, 5-2, Coppin scored five-straight points featuring a pair of aces from Roman.
- Central's Tori Wilson stopped Coppin's run with a kill before kills from Casel and Tsvetanova gave CSU a ten-point lead at 13-3.
- A service error gave Coppin a match-point before Palacios and Coleman combined for a block to win it.
- CSU recorded six kills on nine swings without recording an error in the set, hitting .667.
Up Next: Coppin hosts archrival Morgan State at 7 pm on Friday, September 30. A win will give the Navy & Gold it's first 3-0 start in league play since the 2012 season.
