Milligan College, Tenn. (Aug. 31, 2012) --- The Milligan College volleyball team split a pair of thrilling games on the opening day of the Milligan Mountain Madness tournament on Friday inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. The Buffaloes pulled out a five set thriller 3-2 against Emmanuel in the day's first game, but was unable to complete a comeback as they fell 3-1 to NCAA D-II Shorter University in the nightcap.
 
   In the day's opening game, the Buffaloes saw the Lady Lions rally to even the set after Milligan took an early lead, but the Buffaloes bounced back to capture the first set 25-22. After Emmanuel captured the second set 25-22, Milligan won a tight third set by a score of 25-23. The even fourth set went Emmanuel's way as they won 26-24, but the Buffaloes rallied from an early deficit to win the decisive fifth set 15-13.
 
   In the match, senior Katelin Henson (Kingsport, Tenn.) had 23 digs, while Holly English (Kingsport, Tenn.) recorded 22 digs and 12 kills. Kaitlyn Qualls (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had 17 digs, and Kylie Whaley (Maryville, Tenn.) had 16 kills. Chelsea Spivey (Gate City, Va.) and Rachel Renville (Broomfield, Colo.) had 40 assists and 12 kills, respectively.
 
   In the nightcap, both teams stayed within a couple of points of each other in the first set before the Lady Hawks pulled it out 25-20. After Shorter captured the second set, Milligan pulled away in the later stages to take a 25-22 victory in the third set. However, the Buffaloes were unable to force a fifth set as they fell 25-20 in the frame.
 
   Spivey ended the match with 34 assists and 12 digs, while English and Henson had 17 digs. Linkous had a team high 12 kills, while Whaley and English had 10 kills. Freshman Jessica Davenport (Cleveland, Tenn.) added 10 digs.
 
   With the split, Milligan moves to 2-4 on the season.
 
   The Buffaloes return to action on the second day of the Milligan Mountain Madness tournament at 11:30 a.m. Milligan will square off against UVA-Wise, and then face Southeastern in the final game of the tournament at 3:30 p.m., inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.