NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State's
TaKenya Stafford and
Coco Figueroa each received MEAC Volleyball weekly awards, it was announced by the league office on Monday afternoon. Stafford was named the MEAC Player of the Week while Figueroa earned Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
The duo led the Eagles to a 3-2 record last week with victories over Lafayette, Penn and Iona. This is the seventh time of her career that Stafford has been named the MEAC Player of the Week, and the sixth time overall (second this season) that Figueroa picked up Defensive Player of the Week honors.
A redshirt senior from Los Angeles, Calif., Stafford averaged 3.74 kills on .191 hitting to go with 2.32 digs, seven aces and eight blocks while posting three double doubles. Stafford opened the week with 15 kills and ten digs while Coppin took a set from Georgetown for the first time in program history. She then started the Charm City Classic with back-to-back double-doubles in wins over Lafayette (18 kills/11 digs) and Penn (16 kills/13 digs). Stafford also combined for four aces in seven blocks in those matches.
On day two of the Tournament, Stafford tallied a team-high 13 kills against Iona and nine kills against Princeton. In the win over the Gaels, Stafford recorded her 1,000
th career kill and she also nears the milestone while in a CSU uniform in just two-plus seasons.
Stafford currently ranks second in the MEAC in both kills/set (3.81) and points/set (4.31) while ranking ninth in digs/set (2.50). She sits seventh nationally in total kills (160) and eighth in total points (181.0).
Figueroa averaged 6.05 digs/set and 1.37 assists/set as she continues to climb Coppin's all-time list in digs. A junior from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Figueroa posted 30 digs against Georgetown and 31 digs against Penn, sandwiching an effort where she notched a double-double with 19 digs and ten digs in a win over Lafayette. She closed the week with 18 digs against Iona and 17 against Princeton.
For the season, Figueroa leads the Nation with 232 total digs while ranking fifth with 5.52 digs/set. Figueroa has assisted on 51 kills this year, averaging 1.21 per set and now ranks seventh in CSU history with 851 career digs.
The Eagles (5-6) return to the court on Tuesday, September 16 when they host Maryland in an 11:00 am first serve on ESPN+. This is the first time that Coppin has played the Terrapins since starting the volleyball program in 1987.
