DOVER, Del., Nov. 17, 2023 – Ammaarah Williams led the way with 9.5 points as Coppin State swept South Carolina State 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-15) in the 2023 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Volleyball Championship quarterfinals at Memorial Hall Gym. 
  
The top-seeded Eagles (25-4) will take on the winner of the No. 4/5 match between Maryland Eastern Shore and Norfolk State in Saturday's 5:30 p.m. semifinal. 
  
TaKenya Stafford, a First Team All-MEAC selection, had nine kills and hit .188 for the match, while also putting up 11 digs. Williams added six kills and three service aces, while Paola Caten and Hope Casel each added five kills. Andrea Tsevtanoa collected an impressive nine service aces, eight in the second set alone.  
  
The Eagles hit .162 for the match and held a 15-3 edge in service aces, while also holding South Carolina State, the No. 8 seed, to .019 hitting. 
  
South Carolina State started strong in the first set, jumping out to an 8-5 lead on a bad set from Coppin State's Williams. The Eagles then fought back taking a 12-8 lead following a 7-0 rally that saw kills fall for Stafford and Caten. The Bulldogs pulled within three points, 19-16, following an 8-7 run led by three kills from Kiyah Felder of S.C. State. A 6-5 Eagles run closed out the set and gave top-seeded Coppin State the 1-0 match lead. 
  
After the score knotted up a few times, the Bulldogs took a 12-10 lead forcing the Eagles to call a timeout to regroup. Shortly after the CSU timeout, Andrea Tsvetanova took over the service for Coppin State and blasted eight service aces over the net assisting in an 12-0 rally for the Eagles who claimed the set two win 25-15 taking a 2-0 match lead. 
  
That momentum carried into the third set, as Coppin State opened with a 6-0 run before the Bulldogs found the scoreboard on back-to-back Eagle errors. South Carolina State pulled within two points, trailing 7-5, but Coppin State dialed in and quickly pulled ahead 23-9 following a 16-4 rally. The Bulldogs did not back down as they went on a 6-1 run late in the set putting the score at 24-15. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the rally came too late as the Eagles scored match point on a double block from Ammaarah Williams and Geraldyn Palacios.  

Felder led the Bulldogs (1-28) with nine kills. 
  
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 53rd year of intercollegiate competition with the 2023-24 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of eight outstanding historically black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University.