ADA, Okla. – The East Central University volleyball team welcomed Arkansas Tech University for their first of two GAC matchups this weekend, taking down the Golden Suns in a decisive three-set sweep (26-24, 25-22, 25-18) on Friday night at the Kerr Activities Center.
 
With the victory, ECU improves to 11-7 overall and 5-1 in GAC play, while ATU falls to 3-3 in conference.
 
"I am so proud of us," Head Coach Danielle Essix said. "The resilience we showed tonight to make big plays and come back after being down in the first set is awesome. It really gave us the momentum we needed to take care of the match in three sets."
 
The Tigers rebounded from their previous match against Texas Woman's University and got back in the win column after sweeping the Golden Suns to secure their fifth GAC win.
 
Although ECU started out slowly, narrowly edging ATU 26-24 in set one, the Tigers found their rhythm in the second set, breaking away midway through and maintaining control, ultimately winning 25-22 to take a 2-0 lead.
 
In set three, ECU delivered their best performance of the night, jumping out to and early 8-4 lead and extending it to as much as eight points at 22-14. ATU tried closing the gap, but the deficit was too much as a final kill by Angel Nahinu clinched the 25-18 win and 3-0 match sweep.
 
Emma Strickland led the offensive effort with 12 kills, while Odalys Gonzalez and Ashleigh Miller posted nine and seven kills, respectively. Gonzalez also recorded eight digs, and both Miller rand Angel Nahinu tallied a team-high four blocks each. Julia Kabala registered 29 assists, and Valentina Tijerina anchored the defense with 12 digs.
 
The ECU volleyball team will quickly turn their attention to their next GAC match against Harding University on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 2 pm.