Volleyball | 8/31/2024 1:31:46 PM
NORFOLK, Va., August 30, 2024 – The 2024 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Volleyball season began with multiple teams competing in their season openers. Coppin State, Howard, Norfolk State and Maryland Eastern Shore all went undefeated to top the weekend match-ups.
COPPIN STATE
QUEENS, N.Y.- Coppin State's volleyball team, coming off its first ever MEAC Title and NCAA Tournament appearance, swept both Northeastern and Central Connecticut State in the opening day of the season opening Red Storm Invitational, hosted by St. Johns on Friday. at Carnesecca Arena.
Coppin State def. Northeastern 3-0 (25-19,26-24,25-23).
Setters Kahea Carvalho and Azul Pilah combined for 32 assists in their Eagles debuts with Carvalho recording career-highs in both assists (17) and digs (17) for a double double. Against Northeastern, TaKenya Stafford also notched a double-double with a match-high 13 kills along with 11 digs.
Coppin State def. Central Connecticut State 3-0 (25-23,25-21,25-18)
TaKenya Stafford and Gabriela Zuquelo both had a match-high 11 kills while hitting a combined .370 to lead the attack while Sophia Bertotti Metoyer hit an errorless .538 with seven kills on 13 swings. Stafford, who hit .450 on 20 attempts, just missed on a double-double with nine digs while Zuquelo added six.
RECAP | GAME 1 BOX SCORE | GAME 2 BOX SCORE
DELAWARE STATE
HARRISONBURG, Va.--Delaware State matched up against both Stony Brook and James Maddison at the Insurance Invitational hosted at the JMU Convocation center. The Hornets volleyball team fell to the Stony Brook Seawolves in five sets, and dropped to the hosts JMU Dukes.
Stony Brook def. Delaware State 3-2 (18-25, 27-25, 20-25, 25-23, 5-15).
The Hornets were led by a double-double from Valeria Otero, who registered a double-double 11 kills and 12 digs against Stony Brook. Alondra Maldonado also added 13 kills, while Naz Tuncay led the team in with 19 digs.
James Maddison def. Delaware State 3-0 (17-25, 15-25, 26-28).
Aaliyah Mitchell finished with 10 kills on the day to lead the Hornets offense while finishing with a hitting percentage of .368. Gerren Tomlin also pitched in with five in the contest. got seven digs from Valeria Otero to lead them defensively.
RECAP | GAME 1 BOX SCORE |. GAME 2 BOX SCORE
HOWARD
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Howard volleyball opened the 2024 season in victory with a 3-1 win over George Mason on day one of the DMV Invitational Friday evening. The Bison triumphed with scores of 25-22, 20-25, 25-17, and 25-22 moving to 1-0 on the season while the Patriots drop 0-1.
MEAC Preseason Player of the Year McKinnon produced a double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs while also adding in three aces. Awojobi also hit double digits notching 11 kills of her own.
RECAP | BOX SCORE
MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE
ERIE, Pa.-- Maryland Eastern Shore grabbed their first win of the season against Mercyhurt for a 3-2 victory.
Maryland Eastern Shore def. Mercyhurt 3-2 (11-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 15-13)
Anisa Dorlouis tied her career-high for assists with 31. Ranyla Griggs lead the team with 15 kills. The senior outside hitter has eclipsed the 400 kill mark for her career. Anjola Omolewa finished in double-digit kills with 11 on the night. Valeria Matias led the team with 19 digs and Anjola Omolewa amassed four of UMES' nine total blocks.
RECAP | BOX SCORE
MORGAN STATE
BALTIMORE, Md.-- The Morgan State volleyball team opened the 2024 season at home on Friday evening, as it welcomed Lehigh to Hill Field House for the opener of the Morgan/Towson Invitational. Morgan State dropped to Lehigh in their home season opener, with a score of 3-1.
Lehigh def. Morgan State 3-1 (25-19, 25-16, 22-25, 25-15)
Daniela Daniela Ferreira and Jada Williams contributed eight kills apiece. The Bears recorded 10 kills on 22 attempts and committed just four errors for a set-best hitting percentage of .273 in the Set 3 victory. Morgan State combined for 37 kills on 103 attempts for a .117 hitting percentage. The Bears outnumbered Lehigh with nine blocks lead by Ferreira and Aubrey Wilson, registering four blocks each.
RECAP | BOX SCORE
NORFOLK STATE
NORFOLK, Va. --Norfolk State went undefeated on day one of the Norfolk State Tournament to start off their 2024 campaign at Joseph Echols Hall on Friday. The Spartans defeated both the Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb and the Cardinals of Lamar in three set victories each to open the season on a 2-0 record.
Norfolk State def. Gardner-Webb 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-21)
Against Gardner-Webb, Gabrielle Gilbert led all players with 13 kills, while Jordan Lyons finished with 12 kills and 9 digs.
Sydney McCree finished the game with 34 assists, three service aces, and eight digs in a spectacular performance against the Bulldogs as the main facilitator for the Spartans.
Norfolk State def. Lamar 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 28-26)
Against Lamar University in game two McCree had the hot hand with three kills and nine assists in one set of play. McCree finished with 35 assists, five kills, and seven digs.
The dynamic trio of Gilbert, Jideofor, and Harris sparked the second set for the Spartans as they scored the final six points to take the 2-0 lead over the Cardinals.
RECAP | GAME 1 BOX SCORE | GAME 2 BOX SCORE
NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The North Carolina Central Eagles faced a challenging start to their 2024 volleyball season, falling to in-state rival North Carolina A&T in straight sets at the Corbett Sports Center on August 30, 2024.
North Carolina A&T def. North Carolina Central (22-25, 18-25, 22-25).
The Eagles Emmie Modlin and Mackenzie Searcy led the charge as both had a team-high 10 kills. Bella Dearinger recorded 21 assists on the night.
RECAP | BOXSCORE
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
MONTGOMERY, Al- South Carolina State saw action at the Alabama State Invitational. The Bulldogs topped the morning off against Nicholls 3-1 loss, then later dropped to Alabama State 3-0.
Alabama State def. South Carolina State (25-12, 25-19, 25-20).
Kaia Barnett led all players with 21 assists against Alabama State, while Hailey Harris racked up three blocks to lead all players. Xaria Pickett added six kills on the night.
BOX SCORE