Milligan College, Tenn. (Aug. 30, 2013) --- The Milligan College volleyball team came up short in a pair of games on the first day of the Milligan Mountain Madness Tournament inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. The Buffaloes fell 3-2 in a heartbreaker to St. Catharine College in the first game, and then fell 3-0 to Bryan College in the nightcap.

In the first game, the Buffaloes and Patriots traded points to begin the first set, but a late St. Catharine run gave them a 25-22 set victory. Milligan battled back in the second set to hold off a late rally and take a 26-24 set victory.

After St. Catharine captured the third set by a score of 25-21, the Buffaloes pulled away late to force a fifth set with a 25-21 fourth set win. Milligan erased a five point lead at the start of the fifth set, but they were unable to complete the rally as they fell 15-9 in the set.

Senior Kylie Whaley (Maryville, Tenn.) recorded 22 kills, while Kaitlyn Round (Billings, Mont.) tallied 22 digs. Samantha Bruinius (Chicago, Ill.) ended the match with 14 digs and 11 kills. Jessica Davenport (Cleveland, Tenn.) and Kylinn Brenden (Billings, Mont.) had 44 assists and 10 kills, respectively.

In the first set against Bryan, the Buffaloes were unable to battle back from an early deficit as they 25-21. Milligan jumped out to an early lead in the second set of the match, but they were unable to hold off a Bryan charge as they fell 25-14. The decisive third set saw the Buffaloes close within three points of Bryan, but they were unable to hold on as they fell 25-18.

Davenport ended the match with 23 assists. Whaley had nine kills, and Bruinius had 12 digs and seven kills. Round finished with nine digs.

Milligan falls to 0-5 on the season.

The Buffaloes return to action on Saturday, Aug. 31, as they wrap up the Mountain Madness Tournament with two games inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. Milligan will face Emmanuel College at 11 a.m., and close out the day with Southern Wesleyan at 3 p.m.