East Central tops Ouachita Baptist 3-1
Oct. 14—In a Great American Conference matchup that featured a battle of the Tigers, the East Central University volleyball team emerged victorious over Ouachita Baptist University with a final score of 3-1 on Thursday night at the Kerr Activities Center.
The win lifts ECU to 9-11 overall 4-4 in conference play. Ouachita left town at 11-12 and 3-5.
"I thought we bounced back really well and started winning the long rallies," said ECU head coach Danielle Essix. "I thought our transition attacking improved a lot. I am really proud of us. We needed this win."
In set one, Ouachita took an early 4-0 lead, but ECU fought back to tie the score 5-5. However, Ouachita went on a 5-0 scoring run to regain the lead and eventually secure the opening set with a score of 25-19.
The second set saw a different ECU team as the orange Tigers turned up their offensive and defensive efforts. Despite going back-and-forth with Ouachita and trailing 13-12, ECU put together a 6-0 scoring run to regain the lead 18-13. Ouachita took the next two points, but ECU finished the set strongly earning the final seven points to win 25-16 and level the match 1-1.
The momentum continued to stay with ECU in the third set as they executed timely scoring runs, leading 12-8, 16-12, and 23-14 before ultimately securing the set 25-15 in dominating fashion.
In the fourth set, Ouachita fought back to lead 10-8 after trailing 3-0 early on, but ECU reclaimed control with a 5-0 scoring run that put them out front for good. ECU would go on to take the set 25-19 and seal the match.
Three Tigers reached double-digit kills — Emma Strickland, Odalys Gonzalez, and Jada Abercrombie. Strickland led the trio with 16 kills while Gonzalez recorded 13 and Abercrombie had 11. Strickland also contributed to the defensive effort with 19 digs. Julia Kabala paced the offense with 51 assists while Sydney Roshek tallied 19 digs in the back row and Angel Nahinu defended the net with seven total blocks.
The ECU volleyball team will be back in action Thursday, Oct. 19 at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.
