NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State's
Cherisse Atilano and
Eva Rovello headlined the MEAC Volleyball Weekly awards, receiving Player of the Week and Setter of the Week, respectively, as announced by the league office on Monday afternoon. This is the first time this season that Atilano has received the award, and the second time of her career while Rovello has won accolades two times already this season.
A sophomore from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Atilano posted three double-doubles to lead the Eagles to a perfect 3-0 mark at the Zips Invitational in the Buckeye State last week. In wins over Valparaiso, Akron and Cleveland State, Atilano averaged 2.92 kills on .209 hitting along with 2.85 digs to go with three aces.
Atilano opened with 14 kills on .256 hitting and 13 digs against the Beacons on Friday before adding 13 kills and ten digs on Saturday against the Zips. Capping off the Tournament, Atilano recorded 11 kills on .267 hitting with 14 digs and two aces vs. the Vikings.
For the season, Atilano ranks eighth in the MEAC in kills/set (2.68), ninth in digs/set (2.38) and fourth in points/set (3.14) while hitting .141. Atilano leads the league in total kills (107) and total points (125.5), second to Rovello in double-doubles (four), sixth in aces (14) and seventh in digs (95).
Rovello averaged 8.69 assists and 2.23 digs while recording nine kills, seven aces and 12 blocks while quarterbacking the offense to a .268 hitting percentage last week. A junior from Vigneux de Bretagne, France, Rovello orchestrated a school-record performance at Cleveland State where the Eagles hit a whopping .383 in the win, surpassing the old mark that stood since 1992.
The 6-foot-1 setter posted double-doubles in back-to-back wins over Valparaiso (35 assists & ten digs) and Akron (37 assists & ten digs) before finishing a did shy of another at Cleveland State despite putting up 41 assists. Rovello also had two kills, four aces and three blocks against Valpo, four kills and a team-high five blocks at Akron and another three ills, three aces and four blocks against the Vikings.
For the season, Rovello is averaging a league-high 8.75 assists and five double-doubles to go with 2.15 digs while adding 31 kills on .400 hitting, 13 aces and 26 blocks.
Winners of three-straight, Coppin State's volleyball team heads to the Constitution State for UConn's For The White & Blue Tournament on September 18-19 as well as a tilt at New Haven on Sunday, September 20. At UConn, the Eagles will play the host Huskies on Friday night followed by clashes with Rhode Island (2:30 pm) and Merrimack (6:30 pm) on Saturday. All three matches at UConn will be streamed on
www.uconnhuskies.com
