WEATHERFORD, Okla. – As the regular season nears its conclusion, the East Central University volleyball team traveled to Weatherford, Oklahoma, to take on the top-ranked Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Despite triumphing the Bulldogs earlier this season, the Tigers were unable to replicate those results, falling in straight sets (22-25, 15-25, 17-25) on Thursday night. However, on a positive note, ECU's strong performance throughout the season has officially secured them a spot in the GAC Championships.
 
With the loss, ECU drops to 8-5 in GAC play, while SWOSU improves to an impressive 13-1, with the Tigers being the only team to hand them a defeat so far. Now, the Tigers will focus on finishing the regular season strong and positioning themselves for a successful postseason run.
 
ECU started out strong in the opening set, building a promising 15-9 lead before SWOSU shifted the momentum with a 10-1 scoring run to jump ahead 19-16. Although the Tigers battled back to trail 23-22, the Bulldogs finished off the set for the 1-0 match lead.
 
After letting the first set slip away, ECU struggled to regain its offensive rhythm as SWOSU continued to capitalize on their momentum, building a commanding 24-11 lead before closing out the second set 25-15.
 
The Tigers showed signs of mounting a comeback in the third set, holding the advantage until midway through. However, SWOSU once again benefited on its scoring runs to secure a decisive 25-17 victory and complete the sweep.
 
As a team, ECU posted its second-lowest hitting percentage of the season in conference play, hindered by errors, a lack of kills, and strong blocks from the Bulldogs.
 
Odalys Gonzalez and Emma Strickland led the offense with nine and eight kills, respectively. Julia Kabala tallied 24 assists and Valentina Tijerina picked up 11 digs.
 
The ECU volleyball team will return to Ada for a rivalry matchup against Southeastern Oklahoma State University on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7 pm.