HOT SPRINGS, Arkansas – In Thursday’s opening quarterfinal match of the Great American Conference Volleyball Championships, third-seeded East Central won the final two sets against rival Southeastern Oklahoma State to score a 3-2 victory against the Savage Storm from inside Bank OZK Arena.
After dropping the second and third sets, East Central (18-13) forced a fifth set thanks to a 6-1 run in the middle of the fourth set that flipped a 13-10 deficit to a 16-14 Tiger advantage. They closed out the set with a final flourish that saw them take five of the final seven points.
In the decisive set, the Savage Storm (13-16) opened with a 3-0 advantage. The Tigers responded with seven-straight points. Odalys Gonzalez notched a pair of kills during the run. The First-Team All-GAC honoree added three more kills in the set and finished with a team-high 22.
Emma Strickland delivered the match-clinching kill as part of an 18-kill performance. She hit .261. Julia Kabala continued her strong play of late as the reigning Setter of the Week total 51 assists and 24 digs.
Ruthie Forson, the GAC’s Setter of the Year notched her league-leading 10th triple-double - 44 assists, 12 kills and 12 digs. Fellow First-Team All-GAC selection D’Nari Mills tallied a match-high 24 kills to go along with 21 digs.
The Tigers collected their first win at the GAC Championships since a first-round triumph against Southern Nazarene at the Spring 2021 Championships. The victory advanced ECU to the semifinals for the first time since 2013. That season, the Tigers also defeated the Savage Storm in the quarterfinals. They face Harding at 2 p.m. on Friday. The Lady Bisons won the lone regular-season meeting, 3-0, on October 12.