ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The East Central University volleyball team opened its two-match road trip through Arkansas on Thursday night, facing Ouachita Baptist University in a battle of the Tigers. ECU was unable to find its rhythm against the hosts, falling in straight sets.
The Tigers will look to bounce back Friday, Oct. 9, when they wrap up their Arkansas road trip against Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.
ECU faced an early deficit in the opening set as Ouachita Baptist built a 15-12 lead before closing on a 10-2 scoring run to claim the set, 25-14.
The second set presented similar challenges for the Tigers, who struggled to find offensive consistency while committing eight attack errors. Ouachita Baptist capitalized on the early struggles, building a 15-4 advantage and maintaining control to take the set 25-13 and move within one set of the match.
ECU showed more life offensively in the third set, recording 11 kills, but Ouachita Baptist answered with 17 kills while hitting .455. The Tigers put together a 5-0 scoring run behind the serving of
Breana Timms to cut the deficit to 17-13. However, the hosts maintained their advantage down the stretch, closing out the set 25-18 to secure the straight-set victory.
ECU finished with 27 kills and a .103 hitting percentage, while Ouachita Baptist recorded 45 kills and hit .367.
Bryleigh Wallace led the Tigers defensively with 18 digs, while
Addison Iman paced the offense with seven kills.
Seran Eran added six kills, and
Kensington White contributed four kills while hitting .571.
Emily Pena recorded 17 assists.
