Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 JOPLIN, MO. – The East Central University volleyball team fell in the first two matches of the Missouri Southern State Invitational, falling 0-3 to both Pittsburg State (16-25, 10-25, 11-25) and No. 13 Washburn (15-25, 19-25, 23-25).

The Lady Tigers (6-10) were led by senior Sarah Nelson.  Nelson tallied 12 kills and a .250 (12k-4e-32ta) hitting percentage.  Sophomore Hayley Gerken added 14 kills and five digs.

ECU will wrap up the tournament, Saturday, Oct. 12 with matches against Missouri Western State (11 a.m.) and Southwest Baptist (3 p.m.).

Pittsburg State 3, ECU 0                                        
In the opening match of the day the Lady Tigers were led by Nelson, who tallied six kills, but fell 0-3.  ECU struggled to find its offensive power in the match, hitting -.056 (21k-27e-107ta) to a .298 (38k-10e-94ta) mark by the Gorillas (7-10).

PSU opened the first set with a 5-0 run and never allowed the Lady Tigers to garner more than two points in-a-row in the rest of the set on a way to a 16-25 win.

The first set opened with the first six points toggling between teams, but again the Gorillas used a large run to earn an advantage and kept the momentum on their side for a 10-25 win.

ECU opened the third set with a 2-0 run, but saw the lead quickly disappear.  The Gorillas tied the set at two and after a quick back-and-forth battle PSU went on a 3-1 run to take control for good.  The Gorillas went on to win 11-25.

No. 13 Washburn 3, ECU 0
The second set of the day saw ECU led by Gerken, with nine kills.  The Lady Tigers did better on the offensive side, hitting .143 (34k-19e-105ta).

In the opening set the teams split the first four serves before the Lady Tigers used a 4-1 run to earn a lead.  The Ichabods (17-3) kept fighting and tied the set at six.  The teams traded points over the next four serves, before Washburn used a 5-0 run to take control of the set for good, on their way to a 15-25 win.

The Ichabods used a 7-0 at the start of the second set to take an early lead and control of the set.  The Lady Tigers used several runs in the middle of the set to try and get back in, but were unable to overcome the deficit and fell 19-25.

Washburn took an early 1-5 lead in the third set and kept the momentum on their side with several small runs.  ECU kept the set close, but could not get closer than two points the rest of the set and fell 23-25.