ADA, Okla. – The East Central University volleyball team kicked off its second round of GAC competition against Northwestern Oklahoma State University on Thursday night. Unfortunately, the Tigers fell to the Rangers for the second time this season, losing in four sets (25-21, 22-25, 19-25, 16-25) at the Kerr Activities Center.
 
In the defeat, ECU drops to 14-12 overall and 8-4 in conference play while Northwestern's GAC record improves to 7-5.
 
The Tigers started strong but gradually lost momentum as the match progressed, unable to counter the Rangers' defense and energy.
 
Set one saw both teams trade points until ECU, trailing 21-20, capitalized on a 5-0 scoring run to clinch the 25-21 win.
 
However, the second set saw Northwestern turn the tide, surging ahead with a commanding 13-5 lead. Although the Tigers rallied with two crucial scoring runs to narrow the gap to 24-22, the Rangers secured the final kill to level the match 1-1.
 
Sets three and four were similar, with Northwestern building early leads and maintaining their advantage. Despite several attempts by ECU to mount comebacks, they could not sustain the momentum, ultimately falling 25-19 in the third set and 25-16 in the fourth.
 
Odalys Gonzalez led with 19 kills and a season-high 22 digs, while Emma Strickland contributed 13 kills and 14 digs. Ashleigh Miller recorded 10 kills, Julia Kabala delivered 46 assists and 16 digs, and Valentina Tijerina tallied 13 digs.
 
The ECU volleyball team will regroup and prepare for a GAC rivalry game against Southeastern Oklahoma State University on Monday, Nov. 4 at 6 pm in Ada.