HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University fought back from a 2-0 deficit Sunday afternoon in Holland Hall, forcing a fifth set, before Coppin State came away with a 3-2 (25-21, 25-23, 16-25, 32-34, 15-8) victory.
 
The Lady Pirates fell to 0-15 (0-2 MEAC) on the season.
 
Reeana Richardson led the Lady Pirates with a career-high 28 kills, committing only six errors to hit .431 for the match. Richardson also had a team-high two aces, along with Mallory Beard. Lena Washington added a career-best 10 kills and seven blocks.
 
Tatyana Thomas went error-free in 10 attacks with five kills to hit a team-best .500.
 
Brianna Lilly had a season-high 51 assists, while Allysa Medina led the way with 13 digs on defense. Richardson added 10 digs for her first career double-double.
 
Coppin State hit .180 for the match, while the Lady Pirates hit .166 (60 kills, 31 errors in 175 attacks). The Lady Pirates held a 7-6 edge in service aces and a 15-10 advantage in blocks.
 
Coppin State led the match 2-0 after taking the first two sets, even though the Lady Pirates held leads in both sets. Hampton led 8-2 in the first set and later held a 12-9 lead, but Coppin State went on a 7-1 run to take control of the set.
 
The second set was a similar story, with the Lady Pirates leading 14-10. Hampton later led 18-16 after Kyndall Nicholas, who had five blocks, and Lilly teamed on a block, but the Eagles (5-8, 2-0 MEAC) scored the next three points to take the lead.
 
Hampton answered with a 4-0 run, going up 22-19 after Richardson had four straight kills, but Coppin State closed the set on a 6-1 run to take what appeared to be a commanding lead in the match.
 
The Lady Pirates hit a team-best .205 (14 kills, six errors in 39 attacks) in the second set.
 
Coppin State used that momentum to go up 7-5 early in the third set, before the Lady Pirates used a 5-2 run to take a 10-9 lead after another Richardson kill. A 5-1 spurt put the Eagles up 14-11, before Hampton scored the next seven points to take an 18-14 lead.
 
Coppin State scored the next two points to cut the lead to 18-16, but the Lady Pirates responded by closing the set on a 7-0 run, and Richardson registered back-to-back kills to clinch the set and avoid the sweep.
 
The Eagles jumped out to an 8-4 lead to open the fourth set, and a 4-0 run later gave Coppin State a 15-9 lead. But the Lady Pirates slowly chipped away at the lead, cutting the gap to 22-18. After Coppin State scored the next point, Hampton rattled off four straight points, cutting the gap to 23-22.
 
Four times, Coppin State was serving match point, but every time the Lady Pirates had an answer. With the Eagles leading 27-26, Thomas kept Hampton alive with a kill before Richardson gave Hampton the lead with a kill.
 
Washington put the Lady Pirates up 32-31 with a kill, before Coppin State tied the set – again – on the next rally. But Hampton answered with a kill from Thomas before Thomas and Lilly paired on a block to give the Lady Pirates the set.
 
Because of that intense back-and-forth, Hampton wound up in its first five-set match of the season.
 
A kill from Nicholas gave the Lady Pirates a 5-3 lead in the fifth set, before Coppin State rattled off 10 straight points to open up a 13-5 lead. Hampton scored three of the next four points, cutting the lead to 14-8 after a block from Lilly and Thomas.
 
But Coppin State scored on the next rally to take the set and the match.
 
Cindy Okpegbue led Coppin State with 16 kills.
 
The Lady Pirates will head to Princess Anne, Md. on Saturday to take on Maryland Eastern Shore. For more information on Hampton University volleyball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.