ARKADELPHIA, Ark – Henderson State Volleyball battled but fell short to East Central at home in their first of a three-match home stand losing 3-1.
 
In their return to the Duke Wells Center after a three-match road trip the Reddies battled against East Central, who are tied for second in the Great American Conference. The Reddies battled throughout led by a balanced attack and good defense at the net. Through the first three sets the match was decided by just two points in each set, the Tigers taking the first two and the Reddies taking the final set of the three.
 
The first set the Reddies found success with an early four-point run with the help of two service aces from freshman Braxton Jones. The Reddies fought back from 22-18 highlighted by a block from redshirt junior Savannah Coats and sophomore Cassidi Campbell and a block by senior Christiane Uzoh. The Reddies eventually fell to the Tigers 25-23.
 
In the second set the Reddies crafted an early 8-4 lead behind three assists in a row from Jones. Uzoh found her groove in the second set contributing five assists in the set to go add to her 15 on the night. The Reddies dropped the set after two kills from the Tigers Emma Strickland gave the team momentum to close out the Reddies.

The Reddies found their groove in the third set thanks to senior Madison Hatt adding 12 assists to go along with her total of 26 on the night. Late in the set the Reddies rallied off five straight points and finished the set with three straight points and a powerful Katilyn Steffes kill. The Reddies won the set 30-28 in one of their longest sets of the year.

Following the big win in the third set the Reddies struggled to find the same energy. After scoring the first two points of the set with a Savannah Coats and Uzoh kill the Reddies fell to the Tigers 25-17.

Henderson State Volleyball is back in action tomorrow at 4 p.m. versus Southeastern Oklahoma in the Duke Wells Center for the second match of a three-game home stand.