MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Sept. 26, 2014) â€" Despite a late-game rally, the Milligan College volleyball team fell Friday night against Columbia University 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 26-24).
 
Milligan fell to 8-9 on the season and 2-2 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference as Columbia moved to 12-3 overall and 3-1 in the AAC.
 
Milligan started sets one and two in the lead, but holding on proved to be the hardest part. Five runs of five points or better put the Buffs out of reach of the lead, and Columbia took the first two sets 25-15 and 25-16 respectively.
 
However, the Buffaloes would not allow Columbia to take the third set as easily. They rallied to tie the game at 15 and kept the score close from that point on. The Buffaloes took their first lead since the beginning of the second game late in the set (24-23), but two kills from Caitlin Brickley, who fired in 15 kills on 18 total attack attempts, ended the Buffs chances at a comeback. Columbia took the final game 26-24.
 
Emilee Linkous and Savannah Benton led the Buffs in kills with eight and seven respectively, and Samantha Bruinius made 13 digs on defense. Jessica Davenport inched closer to the 2000 career assist mark with 25 assists in the match, bringing her to 1972.
 
The Buffs continue their weekend at home against St. Andrews University on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 11 a.m. This will be their last home game until Oct. 14 when they return to the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse to take on Montreat College at 6:30 p.m.