MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The East Central University volleyball team wrapped up their first Arkansas road trip of the season on Friday night, falling to Southern Arkansas University in four sets (19-25, 21-25, 25-23, 10-25) at the Watson Athletic Center.
With the loss, the Tigers drop to 4-3 in Great American Conference play, while the Muleriders improve to 3-4.
Despite coming off a strong team win the night before, ECU struggled to find the same rhythm, as SAU outperformed the Tigers statistically across the board to secure the 3-1 match victory.
The Tigers started strong in the opening set, jumping out to a 2-0 lead. However, the Muleriders quickly turned the tide, taking a 10-5 advantage. ECU responded with a 6-1 run to even the score at 11-11 and later took a brief 14-12 lead, but SAU surged ahead late, using a 5-0 run to close out the set 25-19.
Set two featured a back-and-forth battle early on until the Muleriders again pulled away with a 5-0 spurt to lead 15-9. The Tigers made a late push, cutting the deficit to 23-21, but consecutive errors sealed the set for SAU, 25-21.
In set three, SAU opened with a 6-2 lead, but ECU showed resilience, tying the score at 12-12 and again at 20-20. After two more ties, the final at 23-23, the Tigers capitalized on a pair of SAU miscues to take the set 25-23 and extend the match.
Looking to build momentum, ECU couldn't sustain the energy in set four. The Muleriders took early control and never looked back, cruising to a dominant 25-10 win to close out the match.
Kensington White was a standout at the net, notching a career-high nine kills and leading the team with three blocks.
Peyton Spahn and
Faiana Halatoa added eight kills apiece, with Halatoa also tallying 15 digs.
Emily Pena recorded her first career double-double, finishing with 27 assists, 12 digs, and four kills.
Valentina Tijerina anchored the defense with a team-high 23 digs.
The Tigers now return home to Ada for a key three-game homestand at the Kerr Activities Center. They'll kick things off with a non-conference matchup against Cameron University on Tuesday, October 14th at 6 p.m.
