NORFOLK, Va. – Cherisse Atilano headlined a trio of Coppin State volleyball players who received conference weekly awards on Monday afternoon, collecting her first MEAC Player of the Week honor. Additionally,
Andrea Serrano was named the MEAC Setter of the Week while
Ivanna Luna earned Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
A freshman from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Atilano averaged a team-high 4.00 kills/set on .244 hitting to go with 3.67 digs/set, five aces and three blocks while leading the Eagles to a 3-0 week. Atilano posted a double-double in all three matches, starting with a 16-kill, 11-dig performance against NJIT where she also blocked a pair of attempts. Two nights later, Atilano tallied 15 kills and 16 digs in a reverse sweep of Howard before leading all players with 17 kills, 17 digs and four aces on .342 hitting in a sweep at Norfolk State.
Atilano has established herself as one of the league's top players as a freshman, ranking eighth in the MEAC in both kills/set (2.82) and digs/set (2.57) while leading the Eagles with 31 aces to go with 21 blocks. In conference play, Atilano ranks sixth in kills (3.12) on .302 hitting (4
th in MEAC) to go with 3.21 digs/set (4
th in MEAC) and fifth with 14 aces.
Serrano averaged 6.00 assists and 2.17 digs/set while quarterbacking the Eagles offense to a .239 hitting percentage for the week. A senior from Dorado, Puerto Rico, Serrano started the week with 28 assists, five digs and three aces against NJIT before posting a double-double 27 assists and 14 digs in the five-set win over Howard. Serrano finished the week with 17 assists and seven digs in a sweep at Norfolk State.
For the season, Serrano leads the team with 4.92 assists/set and 0.35 aces/set while ranking fifth with 1.88 digs/set.
Luna totaled 28 kills (2.55/set) on .305 hitting to go with a team-high 11 blocks (1.00/set) for the week. A sophomore from Comerio, Puerto Rico, Luna had 13 kills on .476 hitting against NJIT before tallying 11 kills and a season-high five blocks against Howard. Luna closed the week with four kills and three blocks in a sweep of the Spartans.
Having a breakout season, Luna ranks third on the Eagles with 1.86 kills/set while ranking ninth in the MEAC with a .232 hitting percentage. Luna's 32 blocks and 0.50 blocks/set are also third for Coppin.
Coppin returns to action on Wednesday, October 29 when its hosts crosstown rival UMBC in a 5 pm start.
