Volleyball Makes Short Trip to Annapolis for Navy's Kristen Dickmann Invite

DATES	September 4-5, 2026
LOCATION	Annapolis, Md. (Wesley Brown Field House)
TEAMS	Coppin State, Navy, Penn & Stony Brook
MEDIA	Watch CSU at Navy on ESPN+
NOTES	Coppin State

DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LIVE STATS
Friday, September 4	at Navy	6:00 PM	Live Stats
Saturday, September 5	vs. Penn	11:00 AM	Live Stats
Saturday, September 5	vs. Stony Brook	7:00 PM	Live Stats

EAGLES DIGEST
- Coppin is in the midst of its 40th season of NCAA volleyball and makes the short trip to Annapolis for Navy's Kristen Dickmann Invitational.

- The Eagles start the weekend classic against the host Midshipmen Friday on ESPN+ before battling Penn and Stony Brook on Saturday.

- CSU was picked to win the MEAC in the preseason poll after winning two conference titles over the last three seasons.  Coco Figueroa was named the Preseason Player of the Year while Cherisse Atilano and Kayden Cupid were also placed on the Preseason All-Conference Team.

- Head Coach Tim Walsh enters his 10th season at the helm of the program and is the winningest coach in CSU history with a 146-127 (.535) record. In MEAC play, Walsh's teams have gone 85-32 (.726) over his nine seasons.

- Among the top returners for the Eagles are MEAC First Team selections Coco Figueroa and Kayden Cupid along with MEAC Rookie of the Year and Second Team honoree Cherisse Atilano.  Figueroa was also the league's Defensive Player of the Year. 

- Since 2022, Coppin has gone an impressive 90-46 (.662) overall and 49-7 (.875) in conference games. 

- Last weekend, Coppin opened the year with a 3-1 win over William & Mary before falling in five sets to Kent State less than an hour later.  Pamela De Jesus Tejedor, Cherisse Atilano and Kayden Cupid all had double-digit kills against the Tribe before Atilano and Eva Rovello notched double-doubles against Kent State.

- The following day, the Eagles took a set from Virginia Tech with Coco Figueroa tallying a match-high 20 digs.

- Junior Eva Rovello was named the MEAC Setter of the Week after the season's opening weekend, averaging 7.54 assists and 2.15 digs to go with 11 kills on .440 hitting.

- The Eagles will play its first 15 matches away from the friendly confines of PEC Arena and will play at UConn's Husky Classic next weekend.  Coppin will also make a quick stop to play at New Haven on Sunday, September 20.

- Coppin's home opener is set for September 29 against crosstown rival Loyola Maryland.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Navy dropped all three matches at the Western Michigan Invite, taking Indiana State to five sets. Hailey Jacobus and Farrah Eike had 28 kills apiece, followed by Siena Morgan with 17 and Ellen Gundlach with 15. Isa Boyd and Kinamoni Jerome split time at setter with Jerome also putting up a team-high five aces. Boyd, Jacobus and Eike are also solid in the backrow while Amara Chambers totaled 4.00 digs/set. Avery Maddux had a team-high six blocks, followed by Caroline Buffum with five and seven others have two.

Penn will be opening its season this weekend after going 12-12 overall and 6-8 in the Patriot League last year. The Quakers were picked fifth in the Preseason Poll and are under the direction of second-year head coach Tyler Hagstrom. Zada Sanger is back for her senior season, putting up 3.32 kills while Jenna Garner and Ellie Siskin are now juniors after putting up over 200+ kills. Emery Moore is also back at setter along with top blockers Adell Murray and Haley Kerstetter. Libero Addison Pollock averaged nearly five digs/set last year and returns at libero.

After opening the year with a 3-2 win vs. Robert Morris, Stony Brook was swept by some top competition in NC State, UCF and #17 Florida. Ella Sanders, who played a year at Delaware State and two at Towson, leads the squad with 3.00 kills/set and 2.36 digs/set to go with 6 blocks. Carey-Jean Block and Rayanne Wheat both average over 3.0 digs/set while Ayanna Pierre Louis and Damisi Osibodu average well over a block/set. Quinn Anderson is the team's second offensive option with Avari Amstutz just behind. Three setters have seen quality time with Wheat and Taryn Su averaging over four assists and Ellery Singleton just under the mark.

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.    117-63 (.650)            
40 Seasons    283-802 (.261)

MEAC PRESEASON POLL
The defending conference champions were picked to repeat in the 2026 MEAC Preseason Poll.  Receiving more than half of the first-place votes, Coppin was followed by Howard, Delaware State, Morgan State, UMES, Norfolk St, NC Central and South Carolina State.

Coco Figueroa was named the Preseason Player of the Year and was joined on the Preseason All-MEAC Team by teammates Cherisse Atilano and Kayden Cupid.

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.

BREAKOUT SOPHOMORE SEASON
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.

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 troubles 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 Conference USA All-Freshman Team selection in 2024 while Kendall Minta played two years each at both Bradley and Towson.  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.