Okpegbue paces Coppin State with 10 kills as Eagles down Loyola
BALTIMORE -- Sophomore Cindy Okpegbue had 10 kills and Coppin State opened the Maddie Bingaman Tournament on Friday with a 25-19, 25-22, 25-19 victory over Loyola (Md.) in the Retrievers Activities Center on the campus of UMBC.
Ariel Richard had nine kills and Denali Sturgeon added seven kills as the Eagles rolled to the straight-set victory over the Greyhounds.
Coppin State (2-7) hit a season-best .231 during the match and out-dug Loyola 47-37.
Sophomore setter Chelsee Sauni had 28 assists, eight digs and three kills, while Gabrielle Otero racked up 18 digs. Kendra Ireigbe also had five blocks and four kills for the Eagles.
Faye Lukas had 10 kills to lead Loyola (2-6).
For complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com
Hampton falls in four sets to Campbell
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Hampton fell in four sets to Campbell on Friday to open the Morehead State Eagle Challenge in the Wetherby Gym, as Campbell won, 3-1 (25-16, 13-25, 25-23, 25-22).
The Lady Pirates are now 4-3 on the young season.
Junior outside hitter Krista Kraskura led Hampton with 18 kills, hitting .424 for the match after committing just four errors in 33 attempts. She fell one dig shy of a double-double, and junior rightside Vendula Strakova recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 15 kills and a team-high 19 digs.
Senior setter Bibany Fonseca had 38 assists and nine digs, while junior middle blocker Marija Kocevska had a team-high three service aces to tie her career high.
Lindsey Coats led Campbell (7-2) with 13 kills.
Aggies drop opener at Hilton Garden Inn Mayfaire UNCW Volleyball Classic
WILMINGTON, N.C. – North Carolina A&T dropped a 3-0 decision to UNC Wilmington at Hanover Hall.
The Aggies (1-7) fell by scores of 25-14, 25-10, 25-13 in the opening match of the Hilton Garden Inn Mayfaire UNCW Volleyball Classic. The Seahawks improved to 5-2 overall. Errors hindered the young Aggies early which allowed Wilmington to capitalize off their mistakes throughout the match.
Ashley Johnson recorded a match-high 12 digs to notch her fifth match this season in double-figure digs.
For complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com
Hornets drop pair at Syracuse Tournament
SYRACUSE, N.Y. --- Delaware State came up short in two matches on the opening day of the Candlewood Suites Invitational at Syracuse University today. The Hornets (0-4) fell to Chicago State 3-0 in morning action before suffering a 3-0 loss to host Syracuse this evening.
Against Chicago State, the Hornets fell, 26-24, 25-22 and 25-16. Jasmine Jackson led DSU for the second straight match with 16 kills. Jackson also had a match high three service acres.
Jessica Croucher had nine kills and a team-high 11 digs. Natalia Mendieta topped the Hornets with 25 assists.
Syracuse defeated the Hornets by scores of 25-12, 25-13 and 25-12.
Croucher led DSU with 10 kills and eight digs. Mendieta had 13 assists and led all players with three aces.
For complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com
Bethune-Cookman Puts Scare into Norfolk State in 3-0 Spartan Win
NORFOLK, Va. – Bethune-Cookman put a scare into Norfolk State in a night match on Friday the 13th, but the Spartans overcame some early deficits to defeat the Wildcats, 3-0, at Joseph Echols Hall during the second day of the Spartan Classic.
NSU was down by as much as five in the first set and 11 in the second, but each time the Spartan offense caught fire late in the set. The duo of sophomores Jessica Johnson and Angie Darcus played a big part in that.
Johnson posted 14 kills, while Darcus added 12 on a .393 attack percentage. They both came up with big kills late in those first two sets to keep the Spartans from falling into an early hole. NSU won the match, 25-21, 27-25, 25-23.
Norfolk State improved to 3-6 overall on the year, while Bethune-Cookman fell to 1-6.
Adriana Ramos had five service aces in the match, while setter Darcy Moore tallied 35 assists and eight digs.
Aria Cormier had five kills and seven blocks for B-CU, which held a 10-2 advantage in blocks overall.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com or www.bcuathletics.com
Lady Tigers open ISTAP Collegiate Cup with pair of losses
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Savannah State opened the ISTAP Collegiate Cup, hosted by Alabama State, with a pair of losses as the Lady Tigers lost 3-0 to Jacksonville State and 3-1 to New Orleans.
Against New Orleans, Christian Lyle led the Lady Tigers with a season-high and career-high 11 kills, followed by Bianca Brochu with a season-high and career-high 10 kills.
Senior Asiha Williams, Caitlynn Masoe and freshman Alexis Washington led the Lady Tiger in digs with 11 apiece. Dilworth and Masoe each had three aces in the contest.
Against Jacksonville State earlier in the day, Lyle and Brochu led the Lady Tigers with five kills apiece while Washington and Masoe led in digs with six each.
For complete story, visit www.ssuathletic.com
Morgan State Defeats Lehigh In Opener of Crosstown Invitational, 3-2
BETHLEHEM, Pa. If you are one to believe in all the Friday the 13th suspense and superstitions, then Morgan State was doomed from the start before its match Friday afternoon against Lehigh even began.
Heading to the match from its hotel in Easton, Pa., the bus began to sputter, before eventually cutting off and stalling right on the road. This would go on an additional 18 or 19 more times, as the bus attempted to make its way up and down the hills and mountains of Bethlehem in a scene reminiscent of The Little Engine That Could.
Dealing with riding on a bus which would and did cut off at any time, was only part of this unexpected adventure for Morgan State. After finally reaching it to the Lehigh campus in search of the volleyball arena, the team bus was directed to the other side of the campus where the athletic facilities were located. Only one problem, Leeman-Turner Arena is not located there.
By the time the bus made its way back to the main campus and to the arena, which was just steps away from where it had originally stopped the first time, the Lady Bears had missed their scheduled practice time and had a little over 40 minutes to get ready before the match started.
Then prior to player introductions there was what several MSU players felt was the mimicking of their pre-game chant, by Lehigh’s players. In the end, Morgan State would defeat host Lehigh, 3-2 (26-24, 16-25, 25-14, 15-13) in the opening round of the Lafayette/Lehigh Crosstown Invitational at Leeman-Turner Arena.
The victory was Morgan State’s second consecutive five-set win and marked the third contest out of the last four for Morgan State to go five sets.
Samantha Prescott led Morgan State with a double-double, finishing with a team- and career-high 20 digs, while adding a team-high 12 kills. Ngebui Chafeh also tallied a double-double with 29 assists and 19 digs. Chafeh would add eight kills, falling shy of a triple-double. Tamara Leslie added 14 digs for the Lady Bears.
For complete story, visit www.morganstatebears.com