ELON, N.C. – TaKenya Stafford posted a double-double 19 kills and 12 digs, leading Coppin State to a 3-1 (10-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-20) season-opening victory at Elon on Friday night at the Schar Center. Tonight's match was the opener of the Aggie/Phoenix Invitational, co-hosted by Elon and North Carolina A&T.
A senior from Los Angeles, Calif., Stafford's double-double was the 31
st of her career after leading the MEAC in the category last season. Stafford's 19 kills were a match-high and she finished the night with a .304 hitting percentage on 46 swings.
Kayden Cupid made her Coppin debut and finished with ten kills on .319 hitting along with a pair of blocks.
Cherisse Atilano started in her first collegiate game and added eight kills on .222 hitting to go with 11 digs and a team-high three aces.
Also, on the attack,
Gabriela Zuquelo recorded seven kills, followed by
McKenzie Parks with three and
Ahzhi Coleman with a pair.
Azul Pilahg and
Andrea Cintron setup the offense to a .229 hitting percentage on 49 kills. Pilahg got the starting nod and finished with 21 assists along with nine digs while Cintron was credited with 17 assists and a match-high three blocks.
In the back row,
Coco Figueroa led all players with 16 digs while contributing five assists and a pair of aces on the offensive end.
How it Happened
- Coppin had more errors than kills in the opening set while Elon hit a whopping .429 to take the first set.
- It was all Eagles from there with Coppin hitting .308 over the final three sets to the Phoenix' .155.
- Trailing, 9-8 in the second set, Atilano started a 4-0 run with a kill and an ace to build CSU's three-point lead. Following an Elon kill, Coppin ran off four-straight kills and pulled away with a third 4-0 run to make it 23-13 before Atilano clinched the frame with a kill.
- Elon led by as many as 16-10 in the third set before Stafford tallied four kills over a 6-2 spurt to pull Coppin back within 18-16.
- Elon stopped the run with a kill before a pair of kills from Stafford, and another by Cupid, gave Coppin a 21-19 lead.
- After a point by Elon, Cupid recorded a pair of blocks and a kill to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead in the match.
- Coppin's only deficit in the fourth came at 5-4, as the Eagles went on a 4-0 run to go up 8-5. The Eagles' largest lead came at 23-16 and Stafford put the hosts away with a pair of kills down the stretch. CSU hit .438 in the set with 17 kills on 32 swings.
Up Next: Coppin returns to the court on Saturday, August 30 at North Carolina A&T to play a pair of former MEAC rivals in Bethune-Cookman (1 pm) and the host Aggies (6 pm).
