BALTIMORE -- First-year head volleyball coach Kyetta May has announced Coppin State’s 2015 schedule and it includes six October home matches along with matchups against schools from nine different conferences.
Coming off of a season in which the Eagles won 14 matches and advanced to the semifinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) volleyball tournament, their formidable slate features contests against Baylor and Tennessee. It’ll be the first time in CSU program history that Coppin State will play against current members of the Big 12 and Southeastern Conference, respectively.
Coppin State will participate in four preseason tournaments headlined by a trip to Waco, Texas to compete in a tournament hosted by Baylor on the weekend of Sept. 4-5. It’ll be a homecoming for Texas natives Denali Sturgeon, Cindy Okpegbue and Ellena Torres.
The Eagles will also play in tournaments hosted by St. Francis (Pa.), Towson and UMBC.
“We’re excited about our schedule,” May said. “It’s competitive and I like the fact that we’ll see different programs as well as varying styles of play. Our tough schedule will help us prepare to compete at a high level once we begin conference play. I know some of our young ladies are looking forward to the Baylor tournament and playing in front of family and friends.”
The Eagles season opener will be against Manhattan on Aug. 28 at the Towson Tournament. They dropped a 3-2 decision to Manhattan last season in the La Salle Tournament. Coppin State will conclude the Towson tournament by playing Tennessee on Aug. 29 and Towson on Aug. 30.
In addition to Manhattan, the Eagles will also face non-conference rivals UMBC and Towson for the second straight season. Aside from Baylor and Tennessee, other opponents Coppin State will play for the first time in program history this season include Sam Houston State, High Point and Cal-Poly.
Coppin State will face Howard in its home opener on Oct. 4 at 3 p.m. in the Physical Education Complex. It will be the first home match for May.
The Eagles will play a 12-match MEAC schedule beginning with an away match against Norfolk State at 6 p.m. on Sept. 25. Coppin State also finishes its conference schedule with a pair of road games at Maryland Eastern Shore (Nov. 1) and Morgan State (Nov. 8).
The first of two MEAC semifinal rematches against Hampton will take place on Sunday, Sept. 27 on the road. The Eagles will host the Lady Pirates on Sunday, Oct. 25.
The 2015 MEAC Tournament will be held Nov. 20-22 and hosted by Maryland Eastern Shore.
Coppin State returns seven performers from last year’s team highlighted by senior All-MEAC selections Okpegbue and senior Chelsee Sauni. Senior Kendra Ireigbe also returns for the Eagles as do Sturgeon, sophomore Bailee Jackson, junior Jasmine Burton and Torres.
Okpegbue led the Eagles with 477 kills (3.77 per set). Okpegbue was third in the MEAC in kills per set and fourth in points per set (4.08). She ranked among the top 100 nationally in points per set (100th), kills per set (74th) and total kills (90th). She had double-digit kills in 22 matches, including eight with 20 or more kills. With 920 kills, Okpegbue needs 304 to surpass Ariel Richard to become the all-time program leader in that category.
Sauni averaged 10.30 assists per set, which was second in the MEAC. She led the Eagles with her single-season record 1,164 assists, which stood 84th nationally. Sauni is Coppin State's all-time assists leader with 2,977 assists. She had a single-game program record 61 assists against LaSalle (Aug. 30) and 17 matches with 40 or more assists. She became the all-time program leader in assists after 48 assist effort against UMES (Oct. 5).
Ireigbe averaged 1.15 kills per set and 0.84 blocks per set, which was seventh in the MEAC. She also led Coppin State with 95 blocks. With 232 career blocks, Ireigbe is seven blocks away from passing Brittany Arvin to become the all-time program leader in that category.