DURHAM, N.C. – Redshirt junior
Abby Vacha tallied season-best totals of nine kills and 16 digs to highlight play for the North Carolina Central University volleyball team in a 3-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference loss to Coppin State University on Sunday afternoon.
Coppin State (17-8 Overall, 8-1 MEAC) never trailed in the final to sets to rally and escape with its second five-set triumph over NCCU this season and remain in the top position in the league standings. In the seesaw affair, CSU won by a final score of 23-25, 25-12, 22-25, 25-21, 15-11.
Vacha matched her season-high kill total with nine spikes for the second time in her last three performances while leading the maroon and gray with her 16 digs.
Freshmen
Tori Wilson and
Kamren Harper led the hosts with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Wilson also participated in four of NCCU's seven blocks to finish with 15.5 points. Classmate
Emmie Modlin was a fourth NCCU Eagle with double-digit points as she netted eight kills and three aces. Modlin also tallied 12 digs.
Sophomore libero
Loren Johnson matched Modlin with three aces, while supplying 15 digs. Sophomore setter
Vanila Pulu-Suliafu chipped in her eighth double-double of the season with 37 assists and 13 digs.
NCCU jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first set and held off a late CSU rally to win the opening set by two points. Coppin State responded back with the most lopsided score in the second set. In the most compelling set, NC Central regained the lead in the third frame. With the score tied at 22-all, Johnson served up two aces around a block by Wilson and Modlin. CSU scored the first six points in the fourth set and never relinquished the lead to level the score for a second time. The visitors then had their best hitting set in the race to 15 points in the fifth set to complete the comeback. Coppin State scored 11 of its 15 points in that final stanza on the kill, hitting .286 over that span.
Graduate student
Ammaarah Williams, who was a two-time All-MEAC honoree at NCCU, led the victors with 17 kills, 11 digs and five aces for 22 points. Fellow graduate student Yaniris Miller-Green followed with 21 points, including a match-high 19 kills and four block assists. CSU's specialists excelled at their positions with setter Andrea Tsvetanova logging 55 assists and 18 digs and senior libero Ashley Roman lifting up 26 digs.
NC Central (5-15, 4-5) will next play at Delaware State University on Friday at 4 p.m.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
