Milligan College, Tenn. (August 28, 2009) --- The Milligan College volleyball team opened up their 2009 season in front of a large home crowd Friday night at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse, as they played host to Milligan's Mountain Madness volleyball tournament.
The first game saw what could be a tight race in the Appalachian Athletic Conference this season, as the third ranked Lady Buffs took on the top ranked Bryan College (Dayton, Tenn.) Lady Lions.
Bryan took the first two sets from Milligan in similar fashion by identical scores of 25-23, but Milligan rallied taking the third and fourth sets 26-24 and 25-22, respectively. In the fifth set, the Lady Lions had much of the momentum, but the Lady Buffs closed the gap to make the score stand at 13-12 in Bryan's favor. The Lady Lions won the next two points consecutively to clinch the match and the first meeting between the two AAC powerhouse squads.
Gate City product, freshman Chelsea Spivey, led the Lady Buffs in her college debut. Spivey led Milligan in assists with 30, while she also chalked up three blocks and two aces. Senior Kalyn Perrigan (Bristol, Tenn.) and junior Bianca Burnett (Cookeville, Tenn.) led the Lady Buffs in kills with 11 apiece. Sophomore Morgan Rutledge (Kingsport, Tenn.) led the squad in digs with 30.
During the second match of the night, the Lady Buffs took on the second ranked team in the Southern States Athletic Conference, Shorter College (Rome, Ga.).
The Lady Hawks of Shorter came out firing in the fifth and final match of the night, as they took sets one and two by final scores of 25-11 and 25-21. The Lady Buffs regained composure defeated Shorter in dominant fashion 25-15 to take the third set. Shorter finished off Milligan in the fourth set 25-15 to clinch the match.ÂÂ
Spivey and Rutledge led the Lady Buffs once again in the second match. Spivey totaled 32 assists, while Rutledge had 18 digs. Freshman Kendra Fiddler (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led Milligan in kills with eight.
“Although I am not happy with our losses, I am very pleased with the depth of my roster and how many people contributed tonight,” commented Head Coach Doneva Bays. “We showed a lot of emotion and heart, and never gave up even though we were down two sets at the beginning of each match.”
The Lady Buffs gear up for day two of Milligan's Mountain Madness volleyball tournament on Saturday, Aug. 29. Milligan takes on Southern Virginia University (Buena Vista, Va.) at 11 a.m., and then closes out the tournament with the feature game between the Lady Buffs and the Lady Patriots from the University of the Cumberlands (Williamsburg, Ky.) at 3 p.m.
Both of the Lady Buffs' matches can be viewed online by visiting www.sportsnation360.com/schools/webcast/Milligan-College.   ÂÂ
Milligan statistical leaders v. Bryan College
For the Milligan College v. Bryan College box score, click here.
Milligan statistical leaders v. Shorter College
For the Milligan College v. Shorter College box score, click here.
