Arkadelphia, Ark. – The East Central University volleyball team traveled to Arkadelphia, Arkansas for a GAC matchup against Ouachita Baptist University, falling in four sets (26-24, 19-25, 14-25, 17-25).
 
Ouachita came out with an early 4-0 lead to start set one. ECU would tie the match 10 all, but a 7-1 scoring run by OBU put them ahead 17-11. Ouachita managed to pull away 23-15, but an impressive 11-1 run propelled ECU to a 26-24 set one win.
 
ECU had a slow start in the second set as the black and purple Tigers took the first points and increased their lead to 20-10. ECU closed the gap to 23-19, but a final two points by Ouachita ended the set 25-19 and tied the match 1-1.
 
With a set win in their column, Ouachita used that momentum to take a 10-6 lead in set three and eventually 18-8 after a 9-1 scoring run. Ouachita never let up and cruised to a 25-14 third-set win.
 
ECU trailed OBU 7-5 in set four but could not find a way to take control of the game. Ouachita had scoring runs to push their lead 18-13 before the black and orange Tigers clawed back to 20-17. However, a final 5-0 run by Ouachita solidified set four 25-17 and the match 3-1.
 
Emma Strickland and Nyah Walker recorded double-digit kills in the four-set match. Strickland led with 15 kills while Walker was next with 12. Jada Abercrombie had a season-high 6 kills on the night, and Kemyra Landry had 4. Leah Lawson and Lisa Gonzalez split time setting with Lawson dishing out 25 assists and Gonzalez adding 13. Alejandra Delgado led the defense with 16 digs while Lawson and Strickland tallied seven and Thalianette Garcia had six.
 
The East Central University volleyball team will prepare to take on Henderson State University Friday, Oct. 7 at 4 p.m.