DURANT, Okla. – The East Central University volleyball team picked up its first Great American Conference victory of the season Tuesday night, taking down rival Southeastern Oklahoma State University in a four-set road battle inside a packed Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
With the victory, ECU improves to 5-8 overall and 1-1 in GAC play as they return to Ada for their first home match of the season, hosting Southwestern Oklahoma State University on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. inside the Kerr Activities Center.
With a loud crowd and plenty of energy throughout the rivalry matchup, the Tigers used the atmosphere to their advantage, battling to a 3-1 victory over the Savage Storm by scores of 25-22, 17-25, 27-25 and 25-21.
ECU opened the night with a strong first set, hitting .258 as a team while recording 14 kills to take a 25-22 advantage. Southeastern responded in the second, using a .300 hitting percentage to even the match with a 25-17 win.
The third set proved to be a turning point, as the Tigers delivered their strongest offensive performance of the night. ECU recorded an impressive 23 kills while hitting .375 and battled through another tightly contested set. With Southeastern facing set point at 25-24, the Tigers answered with three consecutive kills from
Addison Iman,
Lana Wright and
Emily Pena to secure the 27-25 victory and take a 2-1 lead.
ECU carried that momentum into the fourth set, hitting .256 while committing just two attack errors. The Tigers held off a late push from the Savage Storm, who scored four straight points to cut the deficit to 23-20. But a Southeastern service error followed by a final kill from
Isabel Gabbert sealed the 25-21 victory and secured the four-set win for ECU.
Freshmen
Addison Iman and
Reagan Hutchinson led the Tigers offensively, combining for a dominate 39 kills. Iman recorded 20 kills to hit .375, while Hutchinson added a career-high 19 kills and hit .333.
Emily Pena orchestrated the offense with 44 assists, while
Breana Timms anchored the defensive effort with a team-high 21 digs.
Bryleigh Wallace added 12 digs and
Gabriela Etter contributed nine, while
Lana Wright recorded three blocks.
As a team, ECU finished with 59 kills and hit .247, its strongest team hitting percentage of the season. The Tigers also recorded 54 assists, 63 digs, six blocks and three aces.
