CATONSVILLE, Md. – Coppin State's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 17-25, 25-14) decision at UMBC on Wednesday night at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. The Eagles fell to 9-13 overall while the Retrievers improved to 5-11.
TaKenya Stafford posted a double-double with a match-high 14 kills on .220 hitting along with a team-high 15 digs.
Ezgi Kucuk also finished in double figures with 11 kills, followed by
Deviana Walker with seven and both
Sophia Bertotti Metoyer and
Ayanna Pharoah with four kills apiece. Bertotti Metoyer also had a team-high three blocks, followed by Walker with two.
Kahea Carvalho assisted on 23 of the team's 43 kills with
Azul Pilahg adding 14 of her own. Both setters had a pair of aces with Pilahg holding a nine to seven advantage on digs.
In the back row,
Coco Figueroa was credited with 12 digs while
Alessia Gallo added eight.
CSU scored the first three points of the match as Pilahg fed Kucuk for a kill before acing the Retrievers. UMBC scored six of the next seven and opened a 14-9 lead. Coppin responded with six-straight with kills from
Payton Swinton and Kucuk along with another ace by Pilahg to retake the advantage. The next six points were scored by UMBC to go up, 20-15 and the Eagles got no closer than 23-20.
UMBC pulled away midway through the second, turning a slim 13-11 lead into a 20-13 advantage and never looked back.
Coppin hit .243 in the third set with 15 kills and began to put some distance between the schools with a 5-0 run to take a 17-12 lead. Stafford opened the spurt with a kill before two kills by Walker. The Eagles closed the frame with five-straight points on three kills, a block from Bertotti Metoyer and Kucuk and a set-winning ace from Carvalho.
The Retrievers led from start to finish despite Coppin cutting the deficit to a single point on numerous occasions. UMBC pulled away and won the set with an 8-0 run to close.
Coppin returns home on Friday, October 18 for a 6 pm start on ESPN+ against archrival Morgan State.
