NORFOLK, Va. - (October 30, 2023) - Coppin State’s TaKenya Stafford and N.C. Central’s Emmie Modlin were named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Co-Players of the Week, presented by Coca-Cola. Delaware State’s Ella Sanders was named Rookie of the Week, while Howard’s Kayla Diaz earned Setter of the Week honors, respectively. N.C. Central’s Loren Johnson was named the Defensive Player of the Week.
Stafford (So., OH, Los Angeles, Calif.) collected 13 kills with six digs and a .455 hitting against South Carolina State on Friday and followed on Sunday with a double-double tallying 12 kills with 10 digs and two service aces against the Eagles of N.C. Central. Stafford sits third in kills per set in the MEAC standings with a 3.49 average. Additionally, she is tenth in digs per set at 2.54 and fourth in points per set at 3.90.
Modlin (So., OH, Pinehurst, N.C.) totaled 33 kills for an average of 3.67 kills per set following a pair of road matches in Baltimore. She tallied a team-high of 17 kills in the five-set victory over Morgan State on Friday and led the Eagles with 16 kills in a four-set battle at Coppin State on Sunday. Modlin nearly had a pair of double doubles this weekend as she made 11 digs against CSU and nine digs versus MSU. She finished the week with a .244 hitting percentage while averaging 2.22 digs per set.
Sanders (Fr., OH, Albuquerque, N.M.) totaled 23 kills and hit for .237 on the weekend with one assist, two service aces, three solo blocks, and 18 digs. She collected a double-double in the match against Howard with 13 kills and 13 digs despite falling in four sets.
Diaz (Sr., S, Rockland, N.Y.) averaged 10.1 assists per set totaling 121 assists over 12 sets played. She posted 30+ assists in each match with 33 against S.C. State, 42 over Delaware State, and 46 at Maryland Eastern Shore. She was only one dig shy of a double-double against the Hawks, tallying nine digs in the five-set match.
Johnson (Jr., L, Charlotte, N.C.) tallied 25 digs in a four-set victory at Morgan State on Friday and finished with team-high 13 digs and two aces in the four-set match at Coppin State on Sunday. She averaged 4.75 digs per set for the week and 1.13 assists per set (nine on the weekend).
Other Top Performers
Coco Figueroa (Coppin State) totaled 12 digs, two assists, and an ace in the three-set sweep of S.C. State while adding seven digs, two assists and two digs in the win over N.C. Central.
Laila Ibrahim (Coppin State) tallied five blocks with eight kills on .385 hitting in sweep of S.C. State and added four blocks with eight kills on .538 hitting vs. NCCU
Andrea Tsvetanova (Coppin State) collected 19 assists, seven digs and two aces in just two sets versus South Carolina State. Posted a double-double of 41 assists and 10 digs with two aces and two kills against N.C. Central.
Alondra Maldonado (Delaware State) finished the weekend with 21 kills on 38 attacks while adding an assist and one block as well as seven digs.
Claire Simpson (Howard) produced 11 digs and two assists in the road win at South Carolina State (Oct. 23) ... had 10 digs and two assists in the victory over Delaware State (Oct. 27) ... racked up 18 digs and and three service aces at Maryland Eastern Shore (Oct. 29)
Cimone Woodard (Howard) Had a career-high 20 kills, three total blocks (two solos) and pair of service aces at Maryland Eastern Shore.
Ranyla Griggs (Maryland Eastern Shore) led the Hawks two MEAC wins over Norfolk State and Howard last week. In a three-set road win over NSU, Griggs led all players with 12 kills and a season-high .588 hitting percentage. On Sunday, Griggs set a new career mark with 21 kills in a five-set win over Howard.
Erin Carpenter (Morgan State) averaged 4.29 assists and 2.00 digs per set to help the Bears to a 1-1 week. Tallied 30 assists, a team-high three service aces and 14 digs throughout the two matches. Tiffany Moore (Morgan State) recorded a hitting percentage of .474 for the week and finished with 10 kills, two digs, two blocks and an assist in six sets played.
Jourdan Page (Morgan State) averaged 3.29 kills per set and 3.29 digs per set to help Morgan to a 1-1 week. Finished with 23 kills, 23 digs, two service aces, an assist and two blocks, including one solo.
Gabrielle Gilbert (Norfolk State) recorded 15 kills and two digs against UMES and added eight kills, six digs and one service ace at DSU.
Grace Smith (Norfolk State) Recorded six blocks and three digs across two games this weekend. Tallied three blocks against both Maryland Eastern Shore and Delaware State.
Bella Dearinger (N.C. Central) contributed 78 assists and 19 digs in a pair of four-set road matches last week for an average of 9.75 assists and 2.38 digs per set.