Tweet #theGAC  HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – SWOSU Volleyball found a way to avoid an early exit at the GAC Tournament by battling back to beat sixth-seeded East Central in five sets in Thursday's quarterfinal. The Bulldogs dropped the opening and third sets before winning the fourth set and edging the Tigers in a tightly contested fifth, 15-13.

The win advances SWOSU (19-8) into the semifinals for a third straight tournament. They'll take on the No. 2 seed, Oklahoma Baptist, tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. after the Bison swept through their opening round matchup against Ouachita Baptist.

Thursday's fifth set alone featured eight ties and eight lead changes. Trailing 11-10 in the fifth, SWOSU finally just built a wall at the net. The Bulldogs got blocks on the next four points, led by three from Zoey Sparks. SWOSU finished with 11 blocks in the game. Six of those came in the fifth set.

The Dawgs won the second and fourth sets to get to the fifth. In both of those victories, they turned in dominant performances. They held the Tigers to .000 hitting in a 25-15 second set and never trailed in the fourth's 25-21 result.

SWOSU opened with a match high seven errors in the 25-22 opening-set loss. Those reduced those errors in the third, but the Tigers hit .289 with 18 kills – both match bests for them – to again post a 25-22 set win.

The Bulldogs saw balanced production for the match. Four attackers finished with double-digit kills led by a trio of players, Sparks, Hailey Smith and Maicee Morgan, who all had 12. Sparks matched her season high while Morgan finished one shy of hers.

Terez Chavez tied her season high with 31 assists. Setting partner duo Cameron Turner added another 21.

Jada Permenter (21) and Lacy Mott (20 digs, 11 kills) combined for 41 digs.

Final team numbers showed SWOSU hitting .224 compared to .182 from the opposition. The Bulldogs also edged the Tigers in aces, 11-8, and blocks, 11-7.