WASHINGTON, D.C. — A trio of North Carolina Central University players reached double-digit kills, but Coppin State University received the same offensive support and served up twice as many aces to clinch a tight 3-1 quarterfinals victory in the 2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Volleyball Championships hosted by Howard University Friday.
 
CSU (13-17 Overall) – a third seed from the Northern Division – hit .286 in the match and tallied 10 aces on the way to the mild 25-17, 19-25, 25-21, 25-22 upset over the Southern Division second-seeded NCCU Lady Eagles. The Coppin State Eagles will next play in the semifinals on Saturday at 5 p.m. (winner of the Howard/South Carolina State quarterfinal match).
 
NC Central (8-24) ended the season with its most wins in a season since 2012.
 
NC CENTRAL HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
 
Sophomore middle blocker Ammaarah Williams, who was just named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team, finished her inaugural playing season with a 16.5-point performance. Williams led the Lady Eagles with 13 kills while adding four blocks (one solo, three assists) and one ace.
 
Sophomore Jasmine Sanders followed with 12 kills and junior Christine Alcox tallied 10 kills.
 
The maroon and gray hit a solid .229 for the match with Williams (.370), Sanders (.212) and Alcox (.409) all swinging well.
 
Sophomore setter Celene Morris contributed 33 assists and seven digs.
 
NCCU finished with 60 digs compared to 55 by CSU. Senior Jessica Pilivi led the balanced defensive effort with 13 digs. Freshman Alyssa Pieh totaled 11 digs, junior Yomaries Villegas notched nine digs and sophomore Isis Mitchell netted eight digs. Morris and Mitchell accounted for four of NCCU's five aces with two apiece.
 
Junior McKayla Young chipped in four block assists.
 
COPPIN STATE HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
 
Two-time All-MEAC honoree sophomore Miajavon Coleman led all players with 15 kills. Freshman Paola Caten followed closely with 14 kills. Sophomore setter Brianna Lang had a big outing for the victors with 48 assists, nine digs and six aces.
 
SET-BY-SET:
 
1ST: Lang launched a pair of early aces to help Coppin State take an early 4-1 advantage. CSU remained in front from that point, hitting .273 in the set to win by eight.
 
2ND: The NCCU Eagles flew out to a 15-5 lead with Williams and Young each supplying two kills and one block assist in the early rush. Coppin State rallied to within two at 19-17 with a 12-4 run, but NC Central won the next four points to take back over and eventually win by that same six-point margin. Williams had five kills in the equalizing set.
 
3RD: Consecutive kills by Young and sophomore Arlanda Faulkner provided NCCU with a 9-7 edge, but Coppin State claimed the next four points to pull ahead for good. Caten had two kills in that rally and CSU registered a match-high 16 kills on a .389 hitting percentage to regain the set lead with the four-point win.
 
4TH: Three more aces by Lang rushed Coppin State out to another quick 5-2 lead. The CSU Eagles remained in front from that point. A trio of kills and two block assists by Alcox inched NCCU within two at 15-13, but a couple ensuing kills by Coleman helped Coppin State win the close three-point set.