Alva, Okla. – The East Central University volleyball team traveled to Alva, Oklahoma to face Northwestern Oklahoma State University on Saturday, dropping the four-set match 3-1 (28-26, 19-25, 21-25, 13-25).
"Unforced errors killed us this game," Head Coach
Cheri Lindsay said. "We just need to keep the ball in play and it's a different game."
ECU came out strong in the first set as they were leading NWOSU by as much as six points, but a couple of scoring runs by the Rangers put them back in the game 15 all. Both teams would battle point by point until the Tigers put an end to the set 28-26 to take the 1-0 lead.
Following the Tigers set one win, the Rangers would open the second set with the first three points. ECU fought back to build a 15-11 lead, but two key scoring runs from NWOSU would limit the Tigers to only four more points before taking over the set 25-19.
With the match tied at one, ECU opened set three earning four out of the first five points. The Tigers would extend their lead 14-10, but the Rangers kept answering back to even the score 15 all. Both teams would tie again at 20 until a 5-1 scoring run by NWOSU would close out the set 25-21.
NWOSU jumped out to a quick start in the fourth set with the first six points to establish a 6-0 lead. The Rangers also had 6-0 and 4-0 scoring runs to extend their lead to as high as 20-9. ECU never found an answer and lost the set 25-13 and the match 3-1.
Emma Strickland,
Nyah Walker,
Aloni Jordan, and
Ashleigh Miller drove the Tiger offense. Strickland led the team with 22 kills, Walker was next behind with 13, and Jordan posted 7 while Miller put up 6. Out of the team's 52 kills,
Leah Lawson dished 48 assists and 11 digs to earn her 6
th double-double of the season. Strickland was the other Tiger with a double-double performance as she added 10 digs to go along with her 22 kills.
Alejandra Delgado tallied a season-high 30 digs and three service aces in the four-set match.
The East Central University volleyball team will be back in action Tuesday, Sept. 20 when they take on Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma at 7 p.m.