MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Oct. 28, 2014) â€" "Rally" was the name of the game as the Milligan College volleyball team played 121 rallies in three games to put away Bluefield College 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-18) after falling behind by six or more points twice in the match.
 
The Buffaloes (15-13, 9-3 Appalachian Athletic Conference) now stand tied for third place with Reinhardt University in the AAC with only two more conference matches left. With a win over their next AAC opponent, Tennessee Wesleyan, the Buffs would secure a strong hold on third place going into the postseason.
 
When Milligan first faced the Lady Rams earlier in the year, they never trailed by more than one point during the match after an opening 3-1 lead by Bluefield.
 
That would not be the case for this match.
 
Bluefield benefited from Milligan errors while also creating opportunities of their own to take the lead in game one, and at the second Milligan timeout, the Lady Rams held a strong 17-9 lead.
 
However, as the Buffs came out of that timeout, they found their rhythm, scoring eight straight points to tie the game at 18-18. Bluefield scored two more points, but the stampede of the Buffaloes could not be stopped, and they took game one 25-20, scoring the final six points of the match.
 
Yet again, the Lady Rams took a large lead in game two, but despite the 19-13 score, Milligan rallied, led by senior Kayla Moore's four kills which helped tie the game at 20-20. Bluefield would nearly rally back (24-23), but an attack error from the Lady Rams brought the game to an end, 25-23.
 
This time, the momentum that the Buffaloes had created stayed with them, and they took game three 25-18, ending the match with a 3-0 victory.
 
"We had a slow start in both games, the first and the second, even the third a little bit there to start, but I do think that was the biggest difference," commented Head Coach Doneva Bays. "There was a bit of nerves with both our seniors starting the first game. It was a little bit emotional and you could tell that. But eventually we settled in and made some good plays."
 
Moore and Marissa Langford led the Buffs in kills, earning seven each, and Jessica Davenport earned 23 assists in the match. Defensively, senior Kaitlyn Round earned 15 digs in the match, and Langford and Savannah Benton both got a hand on four blocks apiece.
 
Milligan continues its season with a trip to Williamsburg, Kentucky, on Nov. 1 where it will compete in two nonconference matches against Midway College and the University of the Cumberlands. From there, the Buffs will stay on the road for their final two AAC matches on Nov. 7 and 8 before heading into the postseason.