SEARCY, Ark. – The East Central University volleyball team faced Harding University for the first game of their Arkansas road trip, dropping a marathon of a match 3-2 on Thursday night.
 
The loss moves ECU to 5-5 in conference play while Harding improves to 9-1.
 
"We battled until the end," Head Coach Danielle Essix said. "It was good volleyball on both sides. We just came up short and are within inches of really finishing against high-level teams. It is exciting to watch but tough when you do not get the outcome you want. We will continue to work and get better."
 
The Tigers and the Bisons went back and forth all night, trading sets in front of a packed Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
 
ECU won sets one and three and Harding won sets two and four, but the Bisons delivered the final blow in the fifth 15-13 to take the 3-2 victory out of the hands of the Tigers. 
 
With their backs against the wall down 13-10 in the final set, ECU refused to give up, earning back-to-back points to trail within one at 13-12. Although Harding managed another kill to extend out front by two points, the Tigers looked to stay alive after Ashleigh Miller's tenth kill of the night put ECU back within one at 14-13. But a kill on match point sealed the 15-13 win for the Bisons who narrowly escaped their first loss at home this season.
 
Emma Strickland, Odalys Gonzalez, and Julia Kabala all had double-double performances. Strickland led the offensive charge with 13 kills and 17 digs while Gonzalez was next with 12 kills and 14 digs. Kabala dished out 42 assists to go along with her 18 digs and libero Sydney Roshek covered the back row collecting a team-high 29 digs. Ashleigh Miller was a force offensively and defensively, recording 10 kills while also adding a team-high six total blocks.
 
The ECU volleyball team will return to action tomorrow with a GAC matchup against Arkansas Tech at 4 pm.