SEARCY, Ark. – For the first time in school history, the East Central University volleyball team came away from a match with Harding with a victory. The Tigers (13-10, 9-2 GAC) picked up a 3-2 (25-21, 25-27, 26-28, 25-23, 15-13) road victory over the Bisons (11-8, 7-4 GAC) to remain in second-place in the Great American Conference standings.
Scoring
- Set 1: 25-21
- The teams traded the first eight serves
- ECU then went on a 6-0 run to push the lead to 9-4
- The Tigers kept the advantage throughout the set
- Only allowed Harding to get as close as one (12-11)
- Set 2: 25-27
- The set was a back-and-forth battle, with no team leading by more than four
- The Bisons led 22-18 late in the set before ECU fought back
- Used a 6-2 run to tie the set at 24 and force extra points
- Harding finished the set on a 3-1 run to claim the win
- Set 3: 26-28
- ECU took an early 4-0 lead
- The Tigers kept pushing and got the lead to five (10-5)
- ECU led 14-11 when the Bisons made their push
- Used a 5-1 to take a 16-15 advantage
- The teams traded serves through a 26-all tie
- Harding finally got the final two points needed to take the set victory
- Set 4: 25-23
- The Bison took the early advantage 11-5
- The Tigers followed with a 7-0 run to take a quick 12-11 lead
- The teams traded runs throughout the set, but after a 15-all tie Harding did not lead the rest of the way
- ECU followed with a 4-0 run to give the needed cushion
- The Bison held off set points for three serves
- Set 5: 15-13
- The final set was tight from start to finish
- Harding held an 11-10 advantage before the Tigers took control
- ECU went on a 4-0 run to get to match-point
- The Bisons against held off the loss for two serves before a Tiger kill gave them the win
Tiger Quick Hits
- ECU and Harding had battled on 11 previous occasions, with the Bisons holding an 11-0 lead in the all-time series and 4-0 when playing in Searcy, Ark.
- First five-set match with Harding in the series
- Series starting in 2009
- The teams were close in most statistical categories, but the Tigers claimed key advantages in service aces and digs
- Kills: ECU – 67 / HU – 57
- No. 7 on the ECU Five-Set Single Match chart
- Total Attempts: ECU – 205 / HU – 198
- No. 8 on the ECU Five-Set Single Match chart
- Service Aces: ECU – 11 / HU – 3
- No. 1 on the ECU Five-Set Single Match chart
- Blocks: ECU 9 / HU – 11
- Assists: ECU – 64 / HU – 53
- Digs: ECU – 102 / HU – 88
- No. 9 on the ECU Five-Set Single Match chart
- RJr. Thalianette Garcia, Fr. Emma Strickland and Sr. Lisa Gonzalez claimed double-doubles in the match
- Garcia: 14 kills, 3 service aces, 1 block assist, 14 digs
- 18th career double-double for No. 8 spot on the ECU Career list
- Strickland: 14 kills, 2 assists, 1 block solo, 3 blocks assists, 26 digs
- Sixth double-double of the season
- Gonzalez: 28 assists, 1 service ace, 13 digs
- Third career double-double
- Jr. Nyah Walker and RSo. Kemyra Landry added double-digit kill totals
- Walker: 15 kills, 2 block assists, 3 digs
- Landry: 11 kills, 1 service ace, 1 block solo, 4 block assists, 4 digs
- RSr. Sydney Dungen had a strong game at setter
- 2 kills, 31 assists, 3 service aces, 9 digs
- Dungen took over the No. 1 spot on the ECU Career Service Ace list – 105
- Also ranked on six other ECU Career lists
- No. 3 Matches Played list – 124
- No. 4 Sets Played list – 424
- No. 3 Kill Pct. - .249 (Heading into the 2021 season)
- No. 7 Digs – 835
- No. 2 Assists – 2,594
Up Next
- The Tigers will return on the road for one more match next week
- Thursday, Oct. 28 at Southwestern Oklahoma State – 6 p.m.
