ADA – The East Central University volleyball team will have a busy week, with four Great American Conference matches set from Tuesday, Sept. 27 through Saturday, Oct. 1. The Tigers open the week, Tuesday, Sept. 27 by hosting Oklahoma Baptist at the Kerr Activities Center at 7 p.m.
ECU will then hit the road for a match at Southern Nazarene, Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. The Tigers then return home for the final two matches of the week, hosting Northwestern, Friday, Sept. 30 (7 p.m.) and Southwestern, Saturday, Oct. 1 (2 p.m.).
ECU has had plenty of time to rest, after having just one match last week, earning a 3-0 sweep of arch rival Southeastern (Sept. 22). The Tigers (3-10, 1-0 GAC) had the strongest outing of the season, hitting .379 (42k-6e-95ta) for the match, recording seven service aces and four total team blocks. Junior
Madyson Gill hit .550 (11k-0e-20ta) and added five service aces, while junior
Kaci Harrison added a .455 (12k-2e-22ta) attack percentage and 11 digs.
The Bison come into the match with a 9-7 overall record and a 3-0 mark in league action. OBU is close to its opponents in most statistical categories, but have a 2.1 to 1.4 lead in blocks per set. The Bison have two key hitters to watch in Cadyn Laing and Nicole Fleitman. Laing has a .259 (109k-34e-290ta) hitting percentage and 68 (19-49) blocks. Fleitman adds 175 kill, 11 service aces and 34 (4-30) blocks.
Southern Nazarene is currently 6-5 overall and 2-1 in the GAC and will face Northwestern Tuesday. McKayla Benner is the leader for the Crimson Storm with a .236 (107k-43e-271ta) hitting percentage, four service aces, 21 digs and 32 (4-28) blocks.
Northwestern is 2-13 overall and 1-1 in league action and will host SNU Tuesday before coming to Ada. The Rangers have two key hitters in Natalie Fahey and Hannah Williams. Fahey has a .266 (121k-38e-312ta) attack percentage, 16 service aces, 33 digs and 34 (3-31) blocks. Williams adds 97 kills, eight service aces, 83 digs and 12 (2-10) blocks.
Southwestern is 2-10 overall and 0-2 in conference play and face Southeastern Friday before heading to the Kerr Activities Center. Carly Zak is the key player to watch with a .187 hitting percentage (184k-86e-524ta), 13 service aces, 89 digs and 19 (2-17) blocks.
The Tigers have a 3-3 record against OBU, including a 3-1 mark when playing at home. However, they have lost the last two and are 0-2 in league play. The series with SNU is at 1-8 in favor of the Crimson Storm, including a 0-5 mark on the road.
The al-time series with NWOSU is knotted a four, with ECU holding a 3-1 lead at home. The Tigers hold a 6-5 lead in the series with SWOSU, but hold a 4-1 lead at the Kerr Activities Center.
