ADA, Okla. – The East Central University volleyball team faced another pivotal Great American Conference matchup on Tuesday night, hosting Oklahoma Baptist University. In one of the most hard-fought matches in recent history, the Tigers emerged victorious, outlasting the Bison in an electrifying four-set battle, 27-25, 14-25, 25-18, 30-28, inside an energetic Kerr Activities Center.
The win pushes ECU to 9-6 overall and 3-1 in conference play, marking their fourth consecutive victory.
"We are playing some really good volleyball right now," Head Coach Danielle Essix said. "Having the ability to make a small change here and there to get our momentum back is really the difference maker. I like that we are utilizing all of our hitters and our defense is starting to flow really well. We showed true resilience to finish the match in four sets instead of pushing it to five which is awesome. As always, the energy in the Kerr is unmatched and we love it."
The game was intense from the start, with the Tigers edging out the Bison 27-25 in a nail-biting first to set. Despite OBU reaching set point at 25-24, ECU stormed back with three straight kills to take the early 1-0 lead.
Although the Tigers got off to a strong start in the first set that featured 21 kills, momentum shifted in the second set, where ECU struggled with unforced errors, posting just nine kills against 11 errors. OBU took full advantage, cruising to a 25-14 win to even the match.
ECU picked it back up in the third, surging to a commanding 12-5 lead. However, OBU refused to go quietly, fighting back to within two points at 15-13. The teams traded blows from there until the Tigers strung together a late 6-2 scoring run to claim a 25-18 victory and 2-1 lead.
Tensions ran high in the fourth set, with the Bison looking to extend the match and the Tigers determined to close it out. It was a relentless back-and-forth battle, featuring 19 ties and five lead changes. Both teams had two different occasions to claim the set, but it was
Odalys Gonzalez who delivered the final blow with three consecutive kills, securing a thrilling four-set victory for the Tigers in front of an energized home crowd.
ECU's offense was firing on all cylinders with four players reaching double-digit kills.
Odalys Gonzalez led with 19, while
Emma Strickland added 18,
Faiana Halatoa contributed 14 and
Ashleigh Miller posted 12. Strickland also dominated on defense, recording a team-high and career-high 28 digs for a double-double, while Halatoa notched her first double-double with 13 digs.
Julia Kabala, recently named GAC Setter of the Week, shined with a career-high 62 assists, ranking second in ECU history, and added 22 digs.
Valentina Tijerina also had a career night, tallying 27 digs as libero.
The ECU volleyball team will now head to Bethany on Thursday, Oct. 3 to take on Southern Nazarene University at 6 pm.
