Alva Review-Courier -

ADA – For the second-straight match the East Central University volleyball team went to five sets, this time falling 3-2 (25-22, 24-26, 29-27, 18-25, ??-15) to archrival Southeastern Oklahoma State in Great American Conference action.

The Tigers (4-11, 0-3 GAC) battled with the Savage Storm (5-9, 1-1 GAC) with the key differences in the match coming down to a few more kills (74-55) and a slightly higher (.178/.147) team hitting percentage.

ECU was paced by seniors Mackenzie Davis, Madeline Mayer and Alex Campbell. Davis garnered a career-high 14 kills, while hitting .323 (14k-4e-31ta) and three block assists. Mayer added 13 kills and five (1-4) blocks, while Campbell netted 12 kills and 11 digs for her third double-double of the year.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 4-1 advantage, but quickly saw the Savage Storm fight back and tie the set at seven. The teams battled through the rest of the set, with ECU taking a one-or-two-point lead to see it reduced or vanish. However, after a 21-all tie the Tigers pushed the momentum and claimed a 25-22 win because of errors by Southeastern.

ECU took the early lead again in set two, but the Savage Storm fought back, tied the set at nine and took the lead until late in the set. Southeastern pushed the lead out to five (20-15), but the Tigers fought back and tied the set at 20. The teams then traded severs and it took extra points to decide the winner, with the Savage Storm claiming the 26-24 win.

The third set started out in favor of Southeastern, taking a lead by as many as five points. But when the lead was 22-19, ECU started a 4-0 run to take a 23-22 advantage. The teams then traded points, forcing the set into extra points. After knotted at 27, two errors by Southeastern gave the Tigers the 29-27 victory.

The fourth set saw the Savage Storm take control early and never let up the pressure, earning a 25-18 win to force the match into the fifth-and-deciding set.

Southeastern jumped out to an early 4-1 advantage. ECU kept fighting, but was only able to cut the deficit to two before seeing it bounce back out to four (8-4). The Tigers kept the set close, and used a 5-0 run to tie the set at 10. However, the Savage Storm responded with a 4-0 run of their own to help secure the 15-11 win.

ECU will now get a break over the weekend before continuing GAC action next Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in Shawnee, Okla., versus Oklahoma Baptist.