Milligan University

Lexington, Ky. (Oct. 10, 2009) --- The Milligan College volleyball team faced off against top competition in this past weekend's Asbury Invitational. The Lady Buffs split Friday as they defeated St. Catherine (Ky.) in their last game, but went 0-2 on Saturday falling to Madonna (Mich.) and Webber International (Fla.).  

Friday, the Lady Buffs (10-11, 4-3) lost to IU-Southeast (Ind.) in the opener 3-1 (25-22, 13-35, 16-25, 21-25), but bounced back to knock off St. Catherine (Ky.) 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-9).  

Saturday, Milligan opened up with nationally ranked Madonna University falling to the Lady Crusaders 3-0 (11-25, 17-25, 13-25). In the final game of the tournament, Milligan lost the first two sets to Webber International, but bounced back winning the third set. The Lady Buffs fell during the fourth set to lose the match 3-1 (18-25, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25). 

“We knew we would see a lot of great competition heading into the weekend,” commented Head Coach Doneva Bays. “It's tough right now battling with the injuries, but hopefully we can get everyone healthy. We still need to work on playing point for point and maintaining our focus.”  

Playing in front of her home town, senior Meredith Lynch (Lexington, Ky.) notched 38 assists, 22 digs and seven block solos over the course of the weekend.  

Freshman Chelsea Spivey (Gate City, Va.) tallied 66 assists and seven kills in just three matches.  

Junior Bianca Burnett (Cookeville, Tenn.) was the Lady Buffs offensive leader with 29 kills in the four matches, while fellow junior Emilee Hale (Morristown, Tenn.) racked up 25 kills and pitched in five block solos.  

Defensively, the Lady Buffs were paced by sophomore Morgan Rutledge (Kingsport, Tenn.) with 33 digs.  

The Lady Buffs host newly added Reinhardt College (Ga.) on Monday, Oct. 12, for their next AAC matchup beginning at 7 p.m.