ADA – The East Central University volleyball team fell just short of making a comeback against Southern Nazarene in a five-set loss (13-25, 17-25, 33-31, 25-21, 13-15) in Great American Conference action at the Kerr Activities Center.

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The Tigers (3-11, 0-4 GAC) were paced by sophomore Madeline Mayer and junior Bria Gambrell.  Mayer hit .278 (13k-3e-36ta) and added one service aces, three digs and five block assists.  Gambrell added a .241 (12k-5e-29ta) hitting percentage, with a service ace, 13 digs and two block assists.  Seniors Sarah Simpson and Hayley Gerken were also in double-digits in the kill's column with 14 and 12, respectively.

Sophomore Taylor Turner garnered 53 assists and nine digs, while sophomore Lily Porsa added 18 digs.

The first set saw ECU fall behind early, 1-6, and they were never able to recover, falling 13-25.

The second set was tight at the start, with both teams trading the first eight serves for a four-all tie.  However, that is when the Crimson Storm (7-10, 3-2 GAC) took control, with a 5-0 run, and never let the Tigers get more than two-straight points the rest of the set.  SNU pushed through with several small runs of its own for a 17-25 win.

The third set ended up being a marathon, taking extra points to be decided.  The teams battled through 13 tie scores and nine lead changes before a winner was decided at 33-31.  After trailing 4-6, the Tigers took their first lead of the match with a 4-0 run and kept fighting for control all the way through.

ECU was leading 21-18 when the Crimson Storm fought back and tied the set again at 21, setting up the extended battle.  The teams traded the next 20 serves until Mayer earned a kill to give the Tigers set point and the team then took advantage of an attack error by SNU to win 33-31.

The fourth set saw ECU get down 0-7 before they started to push back and used several small runs to not only tie the set at 12, but to take a 14-12 lead.  The Tigers then kept control of the set and kept at least a two-point advantage through the rest of the set for a 25-21 win.

The fifth set was a battle all the way through, with eight tie scores and three lead changes.  The final tie came at 12.  SNU then jumped ahead 12-14, but the Tigers kept one match-point from occurring with a block from Mayer and Simpson.  However, the Crimson Storm got a kill on the next point for the 13-15 final.

ECU will now hit the road for a GAC match up with Northwestern Oklahoma State, Saturday, Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. in Alva, Okla.