BALTIMORE – Coppin State's volleyball team is one of the Nation's hottest teams with a 12-match winning streak and takes on a pair of MEAC Northern rivals this weekend, opening at home against Maryland Eastern Shore at 6 pm on Friday, October 9. Two days later, the Eagles will visit Delaware State in a 1 pm start and both matches will air on the MEAC Network.
Prior to the match against the Hawks Friday night, Coppin will honor its 2025 MEAC Championships with a ring ceremony.
EAGLES DIGEST
- During CSU's record-breaking streak, Coppin went undefeated at Akron's Zips Invitational and UConn's For The White & Blue Tournament along with MEAC victories at Howard, Norfolk State, South Carolina State and NC Central and non-conference wins at New Haven and vs. Loyola Maryland.
- Coppin's winning streak is the fourth-longest active streak in the Nation behind the Nation's top ranked teams, Nebraska and Pittsburgh, as well as College of Charleston.
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Eva Rovello was named MEAC Player of the Week on September 21 after being selected the MVP of the UConn Tournament while earning MEAC Setter of the Week accolades three times on August 31, September 14 and October 5.
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Cherisse Atilano (Sept. 14) and
Deviana Walker (Sept. 28) have also won MEAC Player of the Week awards this season.
- On the defensive end, libero
Coco Figueroa is a 2x MEAC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 7 & Oct. 5) this season while middle blocker
Kayden Cupid received it on September 21.
- Figueroa recently became the 3rd CSU player to record 1,500 career digs and ranks fifth in MEAC history in the category.
- In the win over Cleveland State, Coppin hit a whopping .383, setting a school-record for hitting in a 4-set match that stood since 1992.
- Middle hitter
Kendall Minta tallied her 300th career block after a 10-kill, 6-block effort at NC Central. Earlier this season, Minta set a CSU 4-set record by hitting .636 (7-0-11) against Cleveland State.
- In a five-set loss to Penn, the Eagles set a school-record with 18.0 blocks.
- Head Coach
Tim Walsh enters his 10th season at the helm of the program and is the winningest coach in CSU history with a 158-130 (.549) record. In MEAC play, Walsh's teams have gone 89-32 (.736) over his nine seasons.
- Since 2022, Coppin has gone an impressive 102-49 (.675) overall and 53-7 (.883) in conference games.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
UMES enters the week at 2-13 overall and 1-3 in the MEAC with wins over Mississippi Valley State and South Carolina State. Rayah Howell and Karielys Melendez top the Hawks offense with just over 100 kills each while Jayda Hutchins and Malaysia Shaw have just over 80 apiece. Hutchins also splits time at setter with Kate-linh Eden while Dynasty Andrews is one of the top blockers in the MEAC with 59, followed by Shaw and Howell. Arianna Warner Torres averages just over three digs/set with Melendez and Hutchins with just over two each.
The Hornets are currently 12-6 overall with a 3-1 mark in league play with its lone conference loss coming at Howard. Aaliyah Mitchell is one of the top hitters in the league with 203 kills while Jalia Dublin and Hannah Sanders combining for 250 more while Duura Kpea nearing is 100 kills. Paige Ahakuelo is the primary setter and is second to Courtney Nix in digs. Sanders and Kpea form a great blocking duo and have combined for over 130 blocks on the year, followed by Mitchell, Dublin and Myracle Davis.
Up Next: Towson has gone 9-6 overall with a 3-3 mark in the CAA and will play at Campbell twice before taking on Coppin next week. Sevel losses have come to top competition like Arkansas and Missouri as well as College of Charleston who has won 13-straight matches. They have topped Loyola, Howard, Morgan State & William & Mary. Anna Rice leads the Tigers with 176 kills, followed by Taylor Pagan and Malinah Purcell-Telefoni with just over 100 apiece. Kaitlyn Moran is the primary setter but Peyton Meyer has also seen time at the spot. Moran, Kayla Zanon and Megan Platt all average over two digs per set with Clara Vorel and Purcell-Telefoni leading the block. Rice also is a threat at the block with 32 on the year to rank third on the squad.
CSU STORYLINES
Coppin State Volleyball By The Decade
1987-89 13-62 (.173)
1990-99 28-233 (.107)
2000-09 35-252 (.122)
2010-19 90-192 (.319) - Walsh took over in 2017
2020-pres. 129-66 (.662)
40 Seasons 295-805 (.268)
BLOCK PARTY VS. PENN
In the five-set thriller vs. Penn, Coppin broke a school-record with 18 total blocks, led by
Kayden Cupid with nine and
Kendall Minta with eight.
Deviana Walker posted a career-high five blocks, followed by
Eva Rovello with four and
Cherisse Atilano with three.
Date | Opponent Total Blocks
9/5/26 vs. Penn (L, 3-2) 18.0
9/16/23 vs. Portland (W, 3-1) 17.0
9/14/02 vs. Lafayette (L, 3-1) 17.0
'MINT'A GRADING
In Coppin's record-breaking hitting performance at Cleveland State,
Kendall Minta stood out individually, hitting a school-record .636 with seven kills on 11 swings with no errors. This surpassed
Krystal Williams' .611 hitting against Delaware State on October 4, 2003. In the win at NC Central, Minta recorded her 300th career block.
PUERTO RICO CONNECTION
Nearly half of Coppin's roster is from Puerto Rico as seven Eagles (
Cherisse Atilano, Andrea Cintron, Pamela De Jesus Tejedor, Karina Diaz, Coco Figueroa, Ivanna Luna & Isabella Ortiz) all list it as their hometown.
HELLO CHERISSE
Sophomore
Cherisse Atilano is a 'starling' in the making as evidenced by her freshman campaign which won her MEAC Rookie of the Year and 2nd Team All-Conference honors. Ranking second in the MEAC with 13 double-doubles to her teammate, Atilano led the league with 49 aces while ranking 8th in kills/set and 7th in both digs/set and points/set. Atilano was also 4th in total digs and 5th in total kills and points.
BIG SHOES FILLED AT LIBERO
Coco Figueroa came to Coppin in 2023, playing behind MEAC All-Time leader in digs,
Ashley Roman, but its safe to say Roman's shoes have been well filled. Earning All-Rookie Team accolades in her first year, Figueroa has been a First Team All-MEAC the last two seasons and was also the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2025. Figueroa now ranks 3rd in CSU history in digs and matches with 20+ digs and recently hit the 1,500 career dig mark and ranks 5th in MEAC history in the category.
PLAYING CUPID WITH NC CENTRAL TRANSFERS
Coppin has struck gold twice in a row with transfers from N.C. Central, this time with junior middle hitter
Kayden Cupid. In her first year at CSU after picking up All-Rookie Team honors in 2024, Cupid was a 2025 First Team All-MEAC and All-Tournament Team selection, ranking second in the league with 102 total blocks and third with a .313 hitting percentage. This comes after Coppin acquired
Ammaarah Williams from Central in 2022 after she was a 1st Team All-MEAC selection in both 2020 and 2021. Williams was a 1st Team All-MEAC in 2022 and an All-Tournament Team selection at Coppin in 2023.
LUNA BREAKS OUT AS SOPHOMORE & POISED FOR MORE
After appearing just 11 sets as a freshman,
Ivanna Luna had a breakout sophomore season with 169 kills and 50 blocks. She came up big on the rightside in several matches, including a career-high 15 kills on 31 swings vs. Maryland. She posted 10+ kills in five other matches, including 11 in a 5-set win over Howard along with a career-high five blocks.
Luna has been even better as a junior, nearing a career-high in kills and blocks while ranking among the league leaders in hitting percentage. These are up from her 1.76 kills on .212 hitting and 0.52 blocks in 2025.
WALKER WITH SOMETHING TO PROVE
After a superb freshman season,
Deviana Walker saw a drop in playing time as a sophomore. She is having her best season thus far as a junior, averaging 1.76 kills with 0.62 blocks, both are career-highs. In a win at New Haven, Walker led the Eagles with 14 kills while adding four blocks and matched a career-high with 15 at Norfolk State and subsequently was named MEAC Player of the Week.
IT MUST RUN IN THE FAMILY
Several Eagles have close relatives who played collegiate sports at the highest of levels.
Nia Curry's father, Ron, was a 1,000 point scorer at Arizona/Marquette and two of her sisters played collegiate volleyball.
Rori Gray's father, Keith, was a four-year starter at American University, helping AU to a 2002 Regular Season Title in its first year in the Patriot League.
Karina Diaz' sister, Kenia recorded 2,200 digs in her career at Judson University and St. Ambrose, and her father, Secundino, played professional basketball in Puerto Rico.
TRADING HAWKS' UNIFORMS FOR EAGLES
Juniors
Eva Rovello and
Pamela De Jesus Tejedor played two seasons together at Hillsborough CC, and the pair will see major playing time this season. Rovello was a First Team All-FCSAA selection at setter while De Jesus earned the same at the pin for the Hawks who finished 13-13 last year. Despite the .500 record, HCC took eventual National Champion Miami Dade College to five sets with De Jesus going for 27 kills and 12 digs in the loss while Rovello put up 55 assists.
TWIN TOWERS
For the first time, Coppin could cause some trouble with their height in the middle. The Eagles brought in a pair of 6-foot-3 transfers in
Rori Gray and
Kendall Minta. Gray was a CUSA All-Freshman Team selection in 2024 while
Kendall Minta earned Second Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in 2023, tallying over 200 kills on .282 hitting and 125 blocks.
