HOT SPRINGS, Ark. –  For the first time in postseason history, the East Central University volleyball team faced Southwestern Oklahoma State University in the GAC quarterfinals to kickstart the 2023 Championship Tournament. Continuing a trend from the past two seasons, the No. 6 Tigers battled in a gritty five-set thriller to open up tournament play, but unfortunately fell in a hard-fought contest to the No. 3 Bulldogs with a 3-2 (25-22, 15-25, 25-22, 21-25, 13-15) heartbreaker to close out the season.

"I am nothing but proud of us and how hard we fought," Head Coach Danielle Essix expressed. "We knew it would be a battle and point for point ultimately coming down to finishing. We hate to see our season end on day one of the tournament but we fought until the end. I am excited for us to get back in the gym this spring so we can really get to know each other and get better. We will be back for sure."

Set one saw the Tigers jump out to a commanding 8-4 lead that stretched to 11-5. The Bulldogs would eventually narrow the gap to 19-18, but ECU maintained their grip to take the set 25-22.
 
The Tigers opened set two with a 7-3 lead before the Bulldogs quickly turned the tide to lead 14-11. The gap closed to 17-15 after a kill from Emma Strickland, but SWOSU capitalized on a string of aces that allowed them to run away with the set 25-15 to tie the match 1-1.
 
The third set showcased both teams locked in a tight battle, trading points consistently for nearly the whole game. The Tigers saw their biggest lead stretch to 17-13 before the Bulldogs got back to within one at 21-20. But ECU held on to the lead until they finished off the set 25-22.
 
Despite facing an imposing eight-point deficit at 13-5 in the fourth set, the Tigers staged a valiant comeback, trailing 19-18 before SWOSU sealed the set 25-21 to force the fifth and deciding set.
 
The fifth set was a nail-biter until the end as both teams went point for point early on. SWOSU inched away to lead 8-6, but ECU immediately responded with a 4-0 run to reclaim the lead with a 10-8 advantage. The Bulldogs, however, refused to go away, regaining control at 11-all and edging to a 14-11 lead. Though the Tigers rallied with two consecutive points, SWOSU put the final point away for a 15-13 win and the 3-2 match victory to advance to the semifinals.
 
The Tigers put up some big numbers in their final game, with three players reaching double-digit kills, three securing double-doubles, and five tallying double-digit digs.
 
Emma Strickland led with 22 kills, her most in a GAC Tournament match, and 10 digs. Ashleigh Miller was next with 11 kills while adding four digs and two blocks. Odalys Gonzalez posted 10 kills and tied for a team-high 22 digs.
 
Julia Kabala collected 48 assists and 19 digs while Sydney Roshek and Brooke Sarahina took care of the rest of the defensive duties with 22 and 15 digs, respectively.
 
In her inaugural season as head coach, Danielle Essix led ECU to an overall record of 14-15, just one victory shy of tying for most wins in school history. She returned to the Great American Conference Tournament 10 years after closing out her collegiate career as a Tiger in Hot Springs, Arkansas in 2013.