ADA – The East Central University volleyball team will have a full slate of Great American Conference matches on the schedule for the week, including two road matches and one at the Kerr Activities Center.
The Tigers (3-9, 0-2 GAC) will start off with a road match at Oklahoma Baptist, Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. ECU will then host Southern Nazarene, Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and travel to face Northwestern Oklahoma State, Saturday, Oct. 3 at 3 p.m.
The Tigers went 1-2 last week, including a 0-3 loss to Southeastern Oklahoma State in GAC action. ECU is being led by a trio of hitters with over 75 kills each. Sophomore
Madyson Gill leads the team with 110 kills and adds 12 service aces, 105 digs and 12 (3-9) blocks. Senior
Sarah Simpson is next with 90 kills, a team-high 13 service aces, 80 digs and 11 block assists. Senior
Hayley Gerken is the most consistent hitter with a .216 (79k-33e-213ta) hitting percentage, while adding eight service aces and 25 (6-19) blocks.
Sophomore
Taylor Turner sets up the offense for ECU and has 331 assists, 81 digs and 11 (3-8) blocks. Sophomore
Lily Porsa is the top defender with 140 digs.
Oklahoma Baptist comes into Tuesday's match with an 8-7 overall record and a 3-0 mark in the league, after defeating Southeastern (3-1), Southern Nazarene (3-0) and Northwestern (3-0). The Bison have a .176 team hitting average and are allowing a .191 mark.
Priscila Menders leads the team with 127 kills, while Cat Roth is an all-around threat with a .261 (124k-36e-337ta) hitting percentage, nine service aces and 33 (3-30) blocks.
Tuesday's match is just the fifth in the all-time series and will be the first as conference foes. The Tigers hold a 3-1 lead in the series, but are 0-1 when playing on the road.
Southern Nazarene is 5-10 overall and 1-2 in the league after dropping its last five outings. However, the Crimson Storm will have one chance to get back on the winning track before traveling to Ada, as they host Northwestern Tuesday.
SNU has a .153 team attack percentage and is allowing a .179 mark. They are close to their opponents in the other categories, but do have a 1.5 to 1.1 lead in service aces per set.
Mckenna Qualls has a team-high 163 kills, 27 service aces and adds 145 digs and 19 (1-18) blocks. Courtney Bowie is also a threat with a .234 (109k-34e-320ta) hitting percentage and 29 (3-26) blocks.
The Crimson Storm have a clear 1-6 advantage in the all-time series with ECU, including a 1-2 mark when playing in Ada.
NWOSU is 2-10 overall and 0-2 in the league, but will face both SNU and Southeastern before hosting the Tigers. The Rangers are trailing their opponents .162 to .188 in hitting percentage, but have an 11.9 to 11.2 kills per set advantage.
Nora To'omalatai and Asia Pipkin are both all-around threats for NWOSU. To'omalatai is hitting .214 (149k-70e-369ta) and has 10 service aces, 98 digs and 12 (1-11) blocks. Pipkin has 94 kills, nine aces, 105 digs and five (1-4) blocks.
