DOVER, Del. – TaKenya Stafford recorded a season-high 18 kills along with a career-high 16 digs while hitting .333 as Coppin State's volleyball team defeated Delaware, 3-1 (25-27, 25-22, 25-14, 25-20) on Friday night at Memorial Hall. The Eagles now stand at 11-2 overall while besting the Hornets (7-8) in the MEAC opener for both teams.
A sophomore from Los Angeles, Calif., Stafford made just five errors on 39 swings to establish a new season-high for kills. Stafford's 16 kills exceeds the 14 that she totaled in the season opening win over McNeese.
Ammaarah Williams added 15 kills on .231 hitting at the other pin while going over the 1,000 career kills mark in the fourth set. She now has 1,003 kills in her career and she also added seven digs and three blocks on the defensive end.
Paola Caten and
Laila Ibrahim recorded seven kills apiece while
Andrea Tsvetanova assisted on 33 of the team's 56 kills while splitting time at setter with
Andrea Serrano, who had eight assists.
Ashley Roman led all players with 23 digs and added three aces with Serrano serving two more. The Eagles were credited with 9.0 total blocks and outhit Delaware State, .194 to .108.
Set 1
- The opening set was close from start to finish as neither team led by more than three points and featured 14 ties and five lead changes.
- Coppin had a chance to win after Caten and Williams combined for a block to take a 25-24 lead, but DSU scored the final three points to escape with the win.
Set 2
- It looked like DSU was going to take a commanding two-set advantage as it built a 22-17 advantage.
- Stafford, who recorded seven kills in the set, stopped the drought with a kill and added two more during a 5-0 run to tie the score at 22, forcing a Hornets timeout.
- The momentum stayed heavily in Coppin's favor as Stafford added another kill right after the stoppage and finished the set with another following a kill by Hope Casel.
Set 3
- Coppin never trailed in the third, scoring seven of the first nine points to force a timeout by the hosts.
- DSU made an error after the break and the Eagles poured it on with an ace by Roman and a kill by Williams to extend their lead to 10-2.
- The Hornets cut Coppin's lead to as little as 12-8, but CSU regrouped with a 8-3 run on five kills and another ace by Roman to force another DSU timeout at 20-11.
- After trading points down the stretch, Ibrahim gave Coppin the 2-1 lead in the match with a set-clinching block.
Set 4
- Williams led Coppin during an early 8-0 run, giving the Eagles a 13-5 lead and forcing a pair of Delaware State timeouts.
- The Eagles kept pulling away and led by as many as 21-9, but DSU finally answered with three-straight points to pull within 21-12.
- DSU scored three more points after the break before Ibrahim stopped the run with a thunderous kill on an overpass.
- Three-straight blocks by the Hornets cut CSU's lead to just 22-19 and led to the second Eagles timeout.
- Williams came out of the timeout with a kill, followed by a block from Palacios before a kill by Williams proved to be the match-winning point.
Up Next: Coppin welcomes Maryland Eastern Shore to PEC Arena for its home opener on Sunday, September 24 at 1:00 pm.
