ADA, Okla. – The East Central University volleyball team opened up Great American Conference play on their home court in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night. It may have taken all five sets, but the Tigers never backed down, outlasting Northwestern Oklahoma State in a five-set battle (25-23, 20-25, 25-16, 18-25, 15-12) to move to 1-0 in conference play.
 
"For such a young and inexperienced team, finding a way to win in five sets in our opening conference match shows incredible resilience and the heart that they have within," said Head Coach Danielle Essix. "We're still learning and growing, but tonight proved this group has the fight and belief to overcome any challenge."
 
ECU came out aggressive, trading points early before pulling ahead midway through the set. Strong net presence from Peyton Spahn and Faiana Halatoa helped ECU gain momentum, while a key serving stretch from Briley Marion kept the pressure on the Rangers. A late push by Northwestern made things tight, but a kill by Skylar Lambert sealed the set for ECU, 25-23.
 
Despite an early lead, ECU struggled to hold off a mid-set surge from Northwestern. Service errors and a couple of unforced mistakes gave the Rangers an opening, and they capitalized to even the match.
 
The Tigers controlled set three from start to finish, never trailing after the first point. ECU jumped out to a 7–2 lead, capitalizing on Ranger errors and strong serving from Briley Marion. The Tigers extended their lead with another 6–0 run, including back-to-back aces from Jayla Buford, pushing the score to 18–10. Northwestern briefly closed the gap to 20–14, but ECU responded with a final 4–0 burst, capped by a kill from Faiana Halatoa to take the set 25–16.
 
Set four saw another shift in momentum as Northwestern took advantage of ECU's errors and found their rhythm offensively. Despite their efforts, ECU couldn't recover from an early deficit, resulting in the Rangers forcing a fifth and deciding set after pulling away late.
 
Set five was a dramatic turnaround for ECU, who overcame an early 8–2 deficit to complete the comeback. Macey Goodwin sparked the rally with a key serving stretch, and Kensington White followed with another run to push ECU ahead 11–10. After trading points to a 12–12 tie, the Tigers closed strong with a service ace from Jayla Buford and two clutch kills by Peyton Spahn to take the set 15–12 and claim the 3–2 match victory.
 
Peyton Spahn and Faiana Halatoa paced the Tiger offense, recording 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Paula Ramos contributed efficiently with nine kills and a team-best .333 hitting percentage. Emma Greenier garnered her third double-double with a career-high 27 assists alongside 12 digs, while Briley Marion dished out 17 assists and a career-high four aces. Defensively, Valentina Tijerina anchored the back row with 28 digs, while Jayla Buford was next with 14.

The ECU volleyball team will get ready to compete in their last regular-season tournament at the GAC/MIAA Crossover hosted by the University of Central Oklahoma Sep. 18-19.