Box Score | Championship Central


WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 23, 2019—Jurnee Tipton recorded a double-double with 19 kills and 11 digs as Howard defeated Coppin State 3-1 (25-14, 25-14, 22-25, 25-20) in the semifinal round of the 2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Volleyball Championship in Burr Gymnasium.
 
The Bison (19-12) advance to Sunday’s 8 p.m. championship match against either North Carolina A&T State or Morgan State. The match will be televised live on ESPNU.
 
This is Howard’s sixth straight title match appearance. The Bison are the four-time defending MEAC champions.
 
“We had an idea of what this team could be at the beginning of the season and that really came to pass in [sets] one and two,” Howard head coach Shaun Kupferberg said, “We look at each other on the coaching staff and said, ‘This is what we’ve been trying to be all year.’”
 
Howard hit .375 as a team in the first set – to just .029 for the Eagles – before the Bison turned in a .500 hitting clip in the second set. The second set also saw Coppin State record just a .000 hitting percentage.
 
Coppin State actually led early in the first set, going up 8-7 after Paola Caten capped a 4-0 spurt with a kill. Kupferberg called timeout, and after the break, the Bison went on a 17-4 run, breaking the set open and leading 24-12 after Tipton and MEAC Rookie of the Year Tamar Wells paired on a block.
 
With the first set in hand, the Bison jumped out to a 9-3 lead to open the second after a Wells kill. That momentum carried the Bison to a second straight 25-14 set victory and a 2-0 lead.
 
But Coppin State answered, even though Howard was in the lead late in the third set. With the Bison up 22-21 in that frame, Coppin rattled off four straight points, forcing a fourth set after a kill from Christa Johnson.
 
The fourth set was tight early, with the score tied 11-11. Howard then scored the next four points to take a 15-11 lead, and though the Eagles fought back yet again – using a 9-4 run to take a 20-19 lead – Howard scored the last six points to take the match.
 
Tipton’s monster game came along with a .600 hitting percentage. Kailyn Williams added 12 kills for the Bison, while Myca Mitchell had 11. Fola Wilson led Howard on defense with 19 digs, and Semira Blair and Kayla Diaz had 27 and 24 assists, respectively.
 
The Bison hit .311 for the match to Coppin State’s .098 and held a 5-3 edge in service aces. The Eagles (13-18) had an 8.5-7.0 advantage on blocks.
 
Jordan Celestine led Coppin State with eight kills.