MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Oct. 20, 2015) â€" Samantha Bruinius and Jessica Davenport could have done a lot more damage if the match had gone more than three sets. Led by 15 kills from Bruinius and 39 assists from Davenport, the Milligan College volleyball team cruised to another three-set victory, defeating Bluefield College 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 26-24) Tuesday evening at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
 
Milligan (15-10, 10-4 AAC) won its fourth straight match, third straight by a sweep and fifth in a row at home. The Buffs also completed the season sweep of Bluefield (10-13, 6-10 AAC) after winning in five on the road earlier this year.
 
The previous match went five sets and featured a match point for Bluefield which Milligan denied as part of its closing 3-0 run. Tuesday night at home, the Buffs again played their best during the big points and even denied the Lady Rams a set point in the third. With Bluefield ahead 24-23, a BC service error made it 24-24, and Bruinius put down her 15th kill of the night on the next point to give Milligan match point. Jenna Headrick followed with a kill to end it after Emilee Linkous' attempt was blocked back.
 
In all, five Buffs earned kills over the last nine points of the match. This came after an 8-1 run by Bluefield gave the Rams a 19-17 lead in the last set.
 
Bruinius' 15 kills were a career high in three-setters, shattering her previous mark of seven. She was also close to her true career high of 17 which she recorded twice this season in four-setters. Likewise, Davenport's 39 assists broke her previous mark for assists in three-setters. However, Davenport was nowhere near her career high of 57 which she set in the previous Bluefield match.
 
Davenport recorded 16 of her assists in the opening frame as Milligan earned 17 of its 25 points via kill. The Buffs finished the first set strong, too, taking the final two points off kills by Marissa Langford and Linkous after Bluefield had brought it back nearly even.
 
At the end of the middle set, Bruinius earned two kills in a span of three points to put the Buffs up 22-20, and Savannah Benton later gave the Buffs the lead with a tip kill at 23-23.
 
Seven Buffs earned kills in the victory, including Langford and Linkous who had nine apiece. Davenport had five kills to go along with eight digs, and Grace Ann Moorhouse earned 17 digs to lead all players.
 
Bruinius added 11 digs for her ninth double-double of the season.
 
Milligan returns home for two more AAC matchups this week. First, the Buffs will face Reinhardt on Friday, Oct. 23, at 6:30 p.m. before turning around for an 11 a.m. match with Truett-McConnell on Saturday, Oct. 24. Both matches will be part of Milligan's homecoming weekend.