BALTIMORE – TaKenya Stafford and
Kahea Carvalho both posted double-doubles to lead the Coppin State volleyball team to a 3-1 (18-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-20) win over North Carolina Central on Sunday afternoon at PEC Arena. With the victory, Coppin has now won a program-record 11-straight matches at home while improving to 8-11 overall and 4-0 in the MEAC.
Stafford put up her tenth double-double of the season, recording 13 kills on .290 hitting along with a team-high 16 digs and two aces. Carvalho picked up her fourth double-double with a team-high 25 aces to go with ten digs.
Gabriela Zuquelo just missed the milestone, recording 11 kills and nine digs while adding a pair of blocks. She was followed up offensively by
Ezgi Kucuk with nine kills on .280 hitting,
Sophia Bertotti Metoyer with eight kills,
Deviana Walker with a season-high six kills on .455 hitting, and
McKenzie Parks with five kills on eight attempts.
Bertotti Metoyer led the way on defense with six blocks, followed by Kucuk with four.
Coco Figueroa also had 15 digs in the back row as CSU held Central to a .138 hitting percentage.
Carvalho, along with
Azul Pilahg (20 assists), led the Navy & Gold to a .229 hitting percentage.
Central controlled the first set, scoring seven-straight points after Coppin took a 2-0 lead on a kill from Bertotti Metoyer and an ace from Stafford. CSU pulled to within 20-17 before Central closed the frame on a 5-1 run.
Coppin seized control of the second set by using an early 8-1 run with Stafford hammering four kills to take a 9-3 lead. Central was able to pull within four points but Coppin pulled away and tied the match after a 7-2 spurt.
The third set was close throughout, but Coppin turned a 16-15 deficit into a 22-17 lead. Kucuk, Bertotti Metoyer and Zuquelo all managed two points during the run which was punctuated by an ace from Carvalho. Following a kill by NCCU, Bertotti Metoyer and Zuquelo paired for a block before Stafford put down a pair of kills to give CSU a 2-1 lead in the match.
CSU ran off four-straight points to start the fourth and used another 6-0 spurt to take an early 12-4 lead. The freshman duo of Walker and
Aya Rawlins played a major factor with Walker recording three kills and Rawlins a pair of aces early on. Rawlins had a season-high four aces on the day to lead all players.
Central battled to within 14-11 before Kucuk led a 5-0 run with a pair of kills. As Coppin emptied its bench, which saw a kill from
Ivanna Luna to set up a match-point, NCCU pulled with within 24-20 before Stafford finished it off with a kill.
CSU returns to the court on Friday, October 11 at 6 pm where it'll face Norfolk State. Two days later, Coppin will face Howard in Washington, D.C. in a match which could decide first place in the conference standings.
