BETHANY, Okla. – In a must-win matchup for ECU, the Tigers secured their spot in the 2023 Great American Conference Championship Tournament with a thrilling 4-1 win over Southern Nazarene University in Sawyer Center on Tuesday night.
 
The win lifts ECU to 8-7 in conference play and placing them in a three-way tie for 5th in league standings.
 
"We played really hard, and I am super proud of us," Head Coach Danielle Essix said. "We are working hard and just taking it one pay at a time in order to be the best version of ourselves at the end and I think it shows."
 
ECU jumped ahead early in set one using a series of small bursts to inch away, eventually building a 19-11 lead before taking the set 25-20 led by a six-kill effort from Emma Strickland.
 
Set two saw SNU spark some momentum as the Tigers comfortably led 21-16 before six unanswered points by the Crimson Storm allowed them to regain the lead at 22-21. Both teams traded points back in forth from there, but SNU managed to finish off the set 27-25 to even the match.
 
Like set one, the Tigers broke away early on in the third set to take a commanding 12-5 lead. But the Crimson Storm slowly chipped away at the deficit, utilizing a number of scoring runs until the game was tied 17-all and then 22-all. A 3-0 run by the Tigers, though, would give them the edge they needed to take the set 25-22 and the 2-1 match lead.
 
Set four was the closest set of the match with neither team holding more than a two-point advantage until ECU went on a 5-0 scoring run to pull away 22-15. SNU would rally back 23-21 to threaten a fifth set, but untimely attack errors from the Crimson Storm would secure the 25-21 set four win and 3-1 match victory for the Tigers.
 
Offensively, Emma Strickland exploded for 21 kills on the night, while Odalys Gonzalez added 12 kills and Ashleigh Miller chipped in six. In addition, both Strickland and Gonzalez contributed greatly to the defense, tallying a team-high 24 digs and 22 digs, respectively.
 
Julia Kabala also had a balanced effort, dishing out 39 assists while picking up 19 digs and four service aces.
 
The ECU volleyball team will return to the Kerr Activities Center for the final home game of the season where they will take on rivals Southeastern Oklahoma State University on Thursday, Nov. 9 at 7 pm.