ADA, Okla. – The East Central University volleyball team faced its last non-conference opponent of the 2022 season, dropping a hard-fought four-set match to No. 20 Quincy University (13-25, 25-23, 22-25, 22-25).
 
"It was a tough game, but I saw some really good things tonight," Head Coach Cheri Lindsay said. "We just need to clean up the small errors in crunch time and finish."
 
The Tigers were slow to start in set one as the Hawks went on a few scoring runs to quickly take control of the game at 15-5. ECU started to gain momentum at the end of the set after being down 23-9, but it was not enough to turn around the set as Quincy cruised to a 25-13 set one win.
 
Set two was a completely different game as the Tigers came out on the attack to take an 8-2 lead and eventually 16-9. The Hawks responded with an 8-1 run to put them back in the game 17-17. The score would tie six more times before a final two kills by ECU closed out two set 25-23 to tie the match 1-1.
 
The third set saw the Tigers take the early lead once again at 5-1 and increase it to 13-7. The Hawks countered the attack by slowly cutting the deficit until it was 18-all and would take their first lead of the match after a 4-0 run to put them up 21-18. ECU fought back to within one at 23-22, but Quincy would settle set three 25-22.
 
The Hawks quickly took the lead 8-2 in set three, but the Tigers refused to lay down and clawed their way back to tie the game 11-11. Down 14-11, ECU earned six straight points to regain the lead 17-14. Tied 20-all, Quincy utilized a 4-0 scoring run to give them match point 24-20. The Tigers fought off two set points, but the Hawks would finish the fourth set 25-22 and the match win 3-1.
 
Emma Strickland led the offense tonight with 17 kills while adding 11 digs for a double-double performance. Nyah Walker was next with 12 kills while Jada Abercrombie posted a solid nine. Jade Coates recorded a season high seven kills on the night while Aloni Jordan was close behind with six. Leah Lawson earned another double-double in the four-set match with 47 assists and 11 digs. Thalianette Garcia led the back row at libero tallying a season-high 26 digs and Macey McAmis registered 10 of her own.
 
The East Central University volleyball team will host its last final home game of the season Friday, Nov. 4 as they take on Northwestern Oklahoma State University at 6 p.m. on senior night. ECU volleyball will honor its four seniors before the match – Aloni Jordan, Lisa Gonzalez, Thalianette Garcia, and Alejandra Delgado.