BALTIMORE, Md. – Miajavon Coleman's 19 kills were enough to overcome some hiccups at the service line as Coppin State topped the Norfolk State volleyball team by a 3-0 margin on Friday night at the Physical Education Complex.
The Eagles gave away 15 points thanks to service errors, while Coleman had almost four times as many kills as any of her teammates. CSU came up with the victory through scores of 25-13, 25-22 and 25-23.
NSU hit .175 but had just 26 kills to 42 for the Eagles, who attacked at a .364 clip. Coleman hit .444 to lead the way for a CSU squad that improved to 7-4 in the MEAC and 11-14 overall.
The Spartans (1-19, 1-9 MEAC) got eight kills and three blocks from senior
Bojana Bolozan. Junior
Quiana Griffin added five kills, and junior
Jannel Ezeagwu and senior
Anna Rupertova combined for seven kills on 16 swings.
The Spartans were able to close the gap late in the second set, while Coppin State did the same in the third, only this time coming away with the victory thanks to a late rally.
Ezeagwu had four kills in the second, which started with NSU down 7-2. The Eagles won six of eight points for a 14-8 advantage, and later they were up 23-16. Griffin and senior
Halley McKnight scored points as NSU won six of the next seven before another Coleman kill ended the set.
The Eagles were forced to play catch-up in the third set. McKnight had a pair of aces near the start, and sophomore
Makenzy Johnson had two more for a 10-6 advantage. The Eagles finally evened the score at 16-16 after two straight kills from Sydney Hicks.
Still, the Spartans were still up 20-18 after a kill from Bolozan. Coleman, though, had three straight kills to push CSU's lead to 23-21. Bolozan and Griffin had ones of their own to keep NSU alive before an error on the Spartans ended the match.
The Eagles did not need nearly as much drama in the first. They led 9-3 at the start after two aces from Brianna Lang. A couple of kills from junior
Julisa Carrizosa got the Spartans to within 13-11, but CSU ended the set on a 12-2 run. NSU had all four of its blocks in the match in the first set.
McKnight went for 12 assists and three of the team's seven aces.
Lang added 33 assists, six digs and five aces for an Eagles team that closed out the match by hitting .517 in the third set. Ashley Roman led all players with 18 digs, giving the Eagles a 41-30 advantage over the Spartans.
NSU will play at Morgan State on Sunday afternoon, facing a Bears team it defeated earlier this year at home.