SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The East Central University volleyball team wrapped up day two of the Drury Invitational on Saturday, falling in straight sets to Northwest Missouri State before putting up a strong fight against host Drury University, ultimately falling in four sets to close out the weekend.
 
The Tigers will shift their focus to Great American Conference play, opening the conference slate at home on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. against Northwestern Oklahoma State University at the Kerr Activities Center.
 
ECU 0, Northwest Missouri State 3 | (22-25, 15-25, 17-25)
In their first match of the day, ECU struggled to find a rhythm offensively as the Bearcats controlled the tempo from start to finish, outpacing the Tigers in every major statistical category.
 
The opening set was the most competitive of the match. After trailing 21-18, a kill from Peyton Spahn sparked a 5-0 run to give ECU a late lead. However, Northwest Missouri responded with four unanswered points to reclaim control and take the set, 25-22.
 
That momentum carried into sets two and three, where the Bearcats established early leads and never looked back, cruising to 25-15 and 25-17 wins to complete the sweep.
 
Peyton Spahn and Faiana Halatoa led the Tigers with six kills apiece. Valentina Tijerina anchored the defense with a team-high 22 digs, while setters Emma Greenier and Briley Marion contributed 13 and 8 assists, respectively.
 
ECU 1, Drury 3 | (15-25, 23-25, 28-26, 15-25)
The second and final match of the day was nothing short of a battle. After a tough opening set loss (25-15), ECU and Drury went point-for-point in a thrilling second set. In the end, it was the Panthers who edged ahead, escaping with a narrow 25-23 win to go up 2-0 in the match.
 
ECU came out swinging in the third set, storming to a commanding 11-3 lead and bringing new energy and momentum to the floor. But despite the early cushion, Drury chipped away with a series of scoring runs, eventually erasing the deficit and sneaking ahead late, 24-22. The Tigers answered with three straight points to reach match point, but the Panthers forced extra play with a pair of points of their own. In the end, ECU held strong, capitalizing on a Drury error, a clutch ace by Jayla Buford, and a kill from Faiana Halatoa to secure a thrilling 27-25 set win and stay alive.
 
Despite ECU's close play in sets two and three, the Panthers came out strong in the fourth, building a lead that proved too much to overcome. Drury closed it out 25-15 to take the match 3-1.
 
Peyton Spahn once again led the ECU offense, posting a team-high 11 kills for the Tigers' only double-digit kill outing. Emma Greenier notched her second double-double of the weekend with 20 assists and 13 digs. Briley Marion also contributed across the board with 13 assists and 8 digs. Defensively, Macey Goodwin led with 11 digs, while Valentina Tijerina and Jayla Buford each added 10.