BALTIMORE – TaKenya Stafford and
Cherisse Atilano combined for 34 kills, leading Coppin State's volleyball team to a 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-23) victory at Morgan State on Friday night at Hill Field House. The Eagles have won seven-straight matches to improve to 13-9 overall and a perfect 7-0 in the MEAC while the Bears fell to 7-9 on the year and 4-2 in league play.
Both Stafford and Atilano posted double-doubles with Stafford leading all players in both kills (18) and digs (14) while adding three aces. Atilano tallied 16 kills on a match-high .419 hitting to go with 13 digs.
Kayden Cupid added eight kills to go with a match-high three blocks while
Ayanna Pharoah, Ahzhi Coleman and
Deviana Walker chipped in three kills apiece.
Setters
Azul Pilahg (23) and
Andrea Serrano (19) combined for 42 digs and seven aces with Serrano acing the Bears five times.
Coco Figueroa also had three aces to go with 13 digs as the Eagles outhit Morgan State, .222 to .211.
Coppin's 13 service aces are a season-high and its most since October 11, 2024, when it had 13 against Norfolk State.
In the opening set, Morgan scored three of the final four points to take it as Coppin committed a pair of errors over the stretch. The Bears opened the second set strong before CSU ran off five-straight points to go up 7-6. The Eagles pulled away midway through with a 6-2 run to open a five-point lead and never looked back.
Coppin led from start to finish in the third set, recording a series of long runs while hitting .423 to Morgan's .172. The Eagles closed out the frame with five-straight points with Atilano notching kills on both ends.
The decisive set went back and forth with Morgan holding a three-point lead at one point. Coppin fought back to tie the score numerous times before scoring four-straight to go on top, 22-19 following a kill by Cupid on an overpass. Morgan pulled to within 24-23 but committed a service error following a CSU timeout for the match-winning point.
The Eagles return to action on Tuesday, October 21 when it hosts NJIT in a non-conference tilt before hosting Howard two nights later in a pivotal MEAC matchup.
