MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Oct. 6, 2015) â€" Jessica Davenport finished with 47 assists while Marissa Langford and Samantha Bruinius had 16 and 15 kills respectively, all in an effort to help the Milligan College volleyball team to a 3-2 (25-14, 18-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-11) victory over Montreat College in Appalachian Athletic Conference action Tuesday night at the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
 
The victory marked the second win for the Buffaloes (10-8 overall, 6-3 AAC) over the Cavaliers (3-19, 2-6) this season, and was the fifth consecutive win for Milligan over Montreat dating back to the 2013 season. Additionally, the Buffs have now won six of their last nine matches and are 5-1 in the AAC during that stretch, while the Cavs lost their tenth match of the last 11.
 
In addition to Langford and Bruinius, Emilee Linkous played well with 10 kills and 4.5 blocks. Bailey Thomas added eight kills and Charlie Bateman had 3 blocks, all of which came in a crucial fourth set. In combination with Milligan's 15 team blocks, Grace Ann Moorhouse and Bruinius chipped in defensively with 22 and 12 digs, respectively. Lastly, Jessica Davenport finished with two service aces, both in the opening set.
 
In the deciding fifth set, Langford and Bruinius got things started for Milligan with back-to-back kills to tie it at 3-3. Another kill by Bruinius, who had three in the final game, helped Milligan open the set up a at 7-5 before the Buffs capped a 4-0 run with a kill by Savannah Benton and an ace by Jadin Foster to make it 9-5.
 
With the Buffs leading 11-8 but the Cavs threatening in the fifth, Langford answered with a monster kill before Linkous took over with a kill and two blocks (one assisted) to win it 15-11. Overall, the Buffs finished with nine kills in the set on their 15 points.
 
In addition to Bruinius' three kills in the final set, she was even more spectacular in the fourth, using five kills to help spark the Buffs in a must-win frame. Milligan used a 6-2 run to take a 10-5 advantage early in the set before four kills by Bruinius and two straight combination blocks by Bateman and Davenport ignited another Milligan run that brought the score to 20-15, all but securing the need for the fifth set.
 
In the opening set, Milligan dominated by tallying 13 kills, two service aces and four blocks. The Buffs used a 6-0 run to take a 6-1 lead, and later used an 8-2 run to make it 19-8 after four kills on five points by Langford. Additonally, Bruinius and Linkous each finished with three kills in the first set.
 
In the second set, the Buffs found themselves down 15-7 before an impressive 9-1 run featuring three kills and two blocks tied it at 16. However, the Cavs responded and used a 9-2 run to close out the set at 25-18.
 
The third set was close as an 8-3 Milligan run turned a 11-5 disadvantage into a one-point set at 14-13 thanks to three kills by Langford. Down 16-15, Milligan then used a 3-1 mini-run to tie it before Montreat had two 3-0 runs to take the set 25-21 and go up two games to one.  
 
Davenport has now reached the 40-assist mark 10 times during her senior season, while Langford has collected 10 or more kills 10 times, and Bruinius has amassed at least 10 kills eight times.
 
Next up for the Buffs, Milligan will hit the road for its second road trip of the season after playing 11 consecutive road matches in September. The current three-match trip will begin on Friday, Oct. 9, in Athens, Tennessee, with the Lady Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan, whom the Buffs defeated in three sets back on Sept. 1.