ADA, Okla. – The East Central University volleyball team wrapped up its three-game homestand with a thrilling four-set win against Great American Conference opponent Henderson State University on Friday at the Kerr Activities Center.
 
ECU moved to 5-4 in conference play while Henderson dropped to 6-3.

"Tonight's win is big for us," Head Coach Danielle Essix said. "It shows us that we can compete at a high level, be hit with adversity, and still come out on top. I am so proud of our resilience today and we just plan to continue to work hard and get better."

The Reddies jumped out early in set one, leading 8-3 before the Tigers regrouped and went on a 4-0 run to trail within one. However, Henderson answered with consecutive kills and maintained a two to three-point lead until they sealed the set with a score of 25-18.

Similar to the first set, Henderson started strong in the second set, leading 8-3, with ECU playing catch-up. Trailing 14-11, the Tigers put together a combination of scoring runs, including an 8-1 scoring run that allowed them to pull away with the lead 21-17 and ultimately win the set 25-20 to even the match at 1-1.

The third set saw ECU come out with a strong start, leading 6-3 initially and extending their advantage to 14-8. However, Henderson answered back with six unanswered points, tying the game 14-all. From there, it was a back-and-forth battle as the score tied six more times before ECU found themselves down 23-22. But the Tigers roared back with three straight points to secure the set 25-23.

Having secured two-set victories, ECU maintained their composure in the fourth set, engaging in intense volleyball exchanges. The teams were tied at 4-4, but ECU broke through with a 6-0 scoring run to go ahead 10-4. ECU was leading 14-9, but Henderson slowly chipped away, eventually taking the lead 22-18 posing a threat to victory. But the Tigers went on a 7-1 scoring run to put an exclamation point on a 25-23 win and a 3-1 match victory.

Four Tigers led the offensive charge - Odalys Gonzalez, Jada Abercrombie, Ashleigh Miller, and Emma Strickland. Gonzalez posted 17 kills and 17 digs while Abercrombie was next with 12 kills. Miller recorded 11 kills to go with her two blocks and Strickland added 10 kills and a career-high 21 digs. Julia Kabala dished out 47 assists while Sydney Roshek and Brooke Sarahina helped defend the back row with 22 digs and 16 digs, respectively.

The ECU volleyball team will hit the road to Arkansas next week to take on Harding University and Arkansas Tech University Oct. 19-20.