ADA, Okla. – The East Central University volleyball team made quick work of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma on Tuesday night, sweeping the Drovers in straight sets (25-22, 25-15, 25-9) inside the Kerr Activities Center in their final non-conference matchup of the season.
 
With the victory, the Tigers improve to 8-17 overall as they turn their focus to the final stretch of Great American Conference play, beginning Thursday, Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. against Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva.

"This group is hungry," Head Coach Danielle Essix said. "Wins like this fuel us and prove what we're capable of when we play together. We're excited to take this momentum into the last third of our conference and fight for our spot in the tournament."
 
ECU stormed out to an early 8-1 lead in the opening set, extending the margin to 14-2 for their largest advantage of the frame. USAO managed to chip away late, narrowing the deficit to 24-22, but a decisive kill from Seran Eran closed out the set for the Tigers.
 
In set two, USAO grabbed an early 4-2 lead before ECU responded with a 7-0 run fueled by the strong serving of Valentina Tijerina to go up 9-4. The Drovers closed within 15-14 midway through the set, but another dominant serving stretch from Tijerina, this time an 8-0 run, pushed the Tigers comfortably ahead as they sealed the set, 25-15.
 
The final frame saw more of the same. After falling behind 5-4, ECU unleashed another big run behind Tijerina's serving, scoring 11 straight points to take a commanding 15-5 lead. The Tigers never looked back, allowing USAO only brief possessions on serve before cruising to a 25-9 win to complete the sweep.
 
Faiana Halatoa led the Tiger offense with 16 kills while hitting an impressive .438. Kensington White added seven kills, and Peyton Spahn chipped in six. Setters Emily Pena and Emma Greenier shared the settinig duties, tallying 17 and 10 assists, respectively.
 
ECU dominated from the service line, racking up 16 aces to set a new program record for a three-set match, surpassing the previous mark of 14 set in 2023. Tijerina led the charge with six aces, tying for fifth all-time in ECU individual match history, while also anchoring the defense with a team-high 15 digs. Greenier followed with three aces, Jayla Buford added two, and Pena, Halatoa, White, Bailey Kaawa, and Macey Goodwin each contributed one.