DURANT, Okla. - The East Central University volleyball team traveled to Durant, OK for the second match-up of the season against rivals Southeastern Oklahoma State University, sweeping the savage storm in straight sets (25-20, 25-13, 25-20).
 
"Rivalry games are always fun," Head Coach Cheri Lindsay said. "It was a great environment to play in. We played some great defense as well."
 
The Tigers grabbed an early 7-3 lead to start set one. They increased their lead to 19-13 and never looked back. Southeastern went on a 5-1 run to put them within two at 20-18, but ECU settled the score 25-20.
 
Set two saw the Tigers come out on the attack, going on a 5-0 run and eventually extending their dominating lead to 19-6. Southeastern managed to go on a 5-0 run themselves to cut the lead to 19-11, but it was not enough for the Savage Storm as the Tigers easily closed out the set 25-13.
 
Set three was closer than the first two sets with four different ties before the Savage Storm took their first lead of the match at 13-10. However, the Tigers were not going to let it slow down their momentum. After a 6-1 scoring run, they were back on top 17-15. Despite the effort from Southeastern, another scoring run by ECU allowed them to secure set three 25-20 and the match win 3-0.
 
Emma Strickland led the Tiger offense while also earning a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs. Nyah Walker posted eight kills while Jada Abercrombie was next with six. Aloni Jordan and Kemyra Landry had a strong day blocking with Jordan recording four total blocks and Landry adding six total blocks. Leah Lawson dished out 32 assists, five digs, and four kills in the three-set match. Defensively, Alejandra Delgado led the team with 18 digs and a season-high four service aces.
 
The East Central University volleyball team will return home to the Kerr Activities Center Thursday, Oct. 20 to face Southern Nazarene University at 7 p.m.