ADA, Okla. – The East Central University women's volleyball team hosted Harding University in a home GAC matchup, dropping a tight four-set contest to the Bisons (23-25, 18-25, 26-24, 26-28). ECU is now 3-3 in conference play.
 
"The girls fought hard. It just didn't go our way," Head Coach Cheri Lindsay said. "I'm very proud of them."
 
ECU and Harding would trade points back and forth in the first set until the Tigers broke away at 14-all and went on a 5-0 run to push the lead 19-14. Harding answered back with a 9-1 run to change the lead to 23-20 and eventually take the set 25-23.
 
Set two saw the Tigers jump out to a 3-0 lead, but with Harding close behind, they would fight their way back to tie it 13-13. The Bisons would use two big scoring runs to take control of the set. The first 6-2 run put them up 19-15 followed by another 6-1 scoring run to secure the second set 25-18.
 
Down by two sets, ECU came out strong and pushed to a 20-15 lead over Harding. The Bisons clawed their way back to tie the score 24-all, but the Tigers dug deep and closed out set three 26-24.
 
Set four was much like the first with both teams trading points until an 8-1 scoring run by Harding allowed a 15-9 lead. ECU answered back going on three scoring runs to put them back in the game at 20-18. Despite the Tigers fighting their way to match point at 26-25, a final 3-0 run by the Bisons solidified set four 28-26 and the match 3-1.
 
ECU had four players with double-digit kills in the four-set match. Ashleigh Miller led the team with 15 kills while Emma Strickland was next with 13. Nyah Walker posted 12 kills on the night, and Aloni Jordan added 10. Leah Lawson recorded a double-double with 44 assists and 13 digs. Alejandra Delgado led the defense with a career-high 36 digs.
 
The East Central University volleyball team will be back in action at the Kerr Activities Center Friday, Sept. 30 in a GAC match against Arkansas Tech University at 4 p.m.