BALTIMORE – Winners of seven-straight matches, Coppin State's volleyball team opens MEAC play with road matches at Howard on September 24 and Norfolk State on September 27. Both games will air on the MEAC Network.
EAGLES DIGEST
- Coppin is in the midst of its 40th season of NCAA volleyball and opens MEAC play at Howard (Sept. 24) and Norfolk State (Sept. 27) before hosting Loyola (Sept. 29) in its home opener.
- Winners of seven-straight, Coppin went 3-0 at UConn's For The White & Blue Tournament last week with wins over the Huskies, Rhode Island and Merrimack.
Eva Rovello was named the Tournament MVP while
Cherisse Atilano and
Kayden Cupid also earned All-Tournament accolades.
- Before heading home from Connecticut, the Eagles also took down New Haven in four sets, putting four players in double digit kills, led by
Deviana Walker with 14.
Ivanna Luna added 12 while both Cupid and
Rori Gray had 11. Cupid had a double-double with 10 blocks while Rovello posted a double-double with 42 assists & 10 digs.
- Rovello was also named MEAC Player of the Week on September 21 while Cupid earned Defensive Player honors.
- Entering this week,
Kayden Cupid leads the Nation with 72 total blocks (15th w/ 1.53/set) while the Eagles are second nationally with 138 total blocks.
Eva Rovello's 501 assists are 3rd-most nationally.
- 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.
- 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 153-130 (.541) record. In MEAC play, Walsh's teams have gone 85-32 (.726) over his nine seasons.
- Since 2022, Coppin has gone an impressive 97-49 (.664) overall and 49-7 (.875) in conference games.
- Junior
Eva Rovello was named the MEAC Setter of the Week after the season's opening weekend at Virginia Tech, averaging 7.54 assists and 2.15 digs to go with 11 kills on .440 hitting.
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Coco Figueroa earned All-Tournament honors at Navy's KDI Invitational, recording 5.14 digs/set along with 12 assists and 5 aces.She later earned MEAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 7.
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Cherisse Atilano was named MEAC Player of the Week while
Eva Rovello earned Setter of the Week on September 14.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Howard enters at just 1-10 but has played a very challenging non-conference schedule facing the likes of Arkansas, Syracuse, Cornell and Maryland. Addison Buckner is the top offensive weapon w/ 2.94 kills/set, followed by Zenai Jethroe (2.29), Dayion Johnson & Alexys James. James and Sydnei Jones split time at setter while libero Camryn Shelton ranks 2nd in the MEAC in digs. Buckner and James should see time in all six rotations and put up over 2 digs/set. Jethroe is one of the top blockers in the league, and she's followed by five others with at least ten blocks.
Gabrielle Gilbert is arguably the top attacker in the MEAC as Norfolk State is currently 3-9 with wins over Elon, Hampton and Bowie State. Gilbert is averaging 3.62 kills to go with nearly 2 digs/set along with 21 aces and 12 blocks. Kyleigh Moore is next with 2.33 kills, along with Ava Berry, Catori Crawford, Reagan Chisholm and Isis Castille. Nehir Erimez and Jasmine Mataira lead the setters while Jazeli Vandenburgh has a team-high 26 aces and 3.52 digs/set. Berry is an elite blocker with 46 total blocks, followed by Ellis, Chisholm and five others with at least ten blocks.
Local rival Loyola Maryland has wins over Morgan State and Saint Peter's and is 2-8 on the year with a pair of losses to James Madison and four other area programs. Morgan Crawford and Ava Nepkin lead a well-balanced attack with 2.31 and 2.25 kills/set, respectively, followed by Addie Lowe at just under two kills/set. Sydnee Peters, Mariah Sanabia and Elsie Afful will also see their share of attempts with Gabi Verdicchio and Madison Monahan quarterbacking the offense. Addie Huber leads the defense with 3.78 digs/set and 21 aces while Afful, Sanabia and Ellie Joffe should lead the block.
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. 124-66 (.653)
40 Seasons 290-805 (.265)
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.
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.
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, averaging 2.25 kills on .286 hitting to go with 0.59 blocks/set. 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.
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.
2026 MEAC TOURNAMENT
For the second-straight year, Coppin will host the MEAC Tournament from November 20-22. All eight conference teams will participate with four quarterfinals matches on Friday, followed by the semifinals on Saturday and the Title match on Sunday. The winner of the Tournament will earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
