HOTSPRINGS, Ark. – The No. 3 seeded East Central University volleyball team kicked off the 2024 Great American Conference Championships on Thursday with an exciting quarterfinal matchup against rival and No. 6 seed Southeastern Oklahoma State University. In a thrilling five-set battle—one that marked the third meeting between the teams this season—the Tigers triumphed over the Storm to advance to the semifinals.
 
With the victory, ECU continues its historic season, now with 18 wins and securing its first semifinal berth since 2013. That year, the Tigers also defeated Southeastern, a feat accomplished with the help of Head Coach Danielle Essix, who was a senior player on that team. ECU will now face Harding University on Friday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m., based on the outcome of the second quarterfinal match.

"We knew Southeastern would be tough and they were," Essix said. "Playing a team three times in a single season isn't easy. And in true fashion, each match up has gone five sets. But, this team continues to show us resilience and tons of heart. This tournament is so tough and filled with great teams that have exceptional talent. So we drove our focus to be extremely disciplined and just let go and compete. I thought when it mattered the most, we were disciplined and played together and that's really what post season is about. We're excited and proud but not satisfied and hope to play on championship Saturday." 
 
Set one set the tone for an intense, back-and-forth contest, with neither team leading by more than three points. The match was knotted 23-23, but ECU's Odalys Gonzalez and Emma Strickland came through with back-to-back kills to clinch a 25-23 set one victory and a 1-0 match lead.
 
Despite their strong start, the Tigers lost momentum in the second and third sets, falling by decisive scores of 25-12 and 25-18. However, ECU refused to back down.
 
In the fourth set, the teams stayed close, with Southeastern leading slightly by a score of 13-10. But the Tigers mounted a critical 6-3 scoring run to tie the set at 16-16. The score would be tied four more times before ECU closed the set on a 5-2 run, winning 25-22 to force a decisive fifth set.
 
In the final set, Southeastern opened with a 3-0 run, but ECU quickly answered back with a dominant 7-0 run to surge ahead 7-3. The Savage Storm battled to narrow the gap as close as 11-9, but ECU sealed the match with another commanding 5-0 run, winning the final set 15-9 and clinching a 3-2 match victory.
 
Odalys Gonzalez led the Tigers offensively with a team-high 22 kills, while Emma Strickland delivered 18 kills, including the match-clinching shot. Both players also excelled defensively, with Gonzalez contributing 12 digs and Strickland adding 16. Faiana Halatoa also posted double-digit kills with 10 in her first GAC Championship game. Julia Kabala had a standout game, dishing out 51 assists to go along with a career-high 24 digs. Valentina Tijerina anchored the back row, tallying a team-high 26 digs.