LAURINBURG, N.C. (Nov. 6, 2015) â€" Despite holding a 24-23 lead in the first set thanks to three straight kills by Samantha Bruinius, the Milligan College volleyball team could not hold on, and fell in straight sets to St. Andrews University (28-26, 25-15, 25-15) Friday night at Harris Court.
 
Milligan, now alone in fourth place in the Appalachian Athletic Conference, fell to 17-14 overall and 12-7 in the AAC on the season. St. Andrews (19-12, 13-6) moved into sole possession of third place in the conference with its sixth straight victory and ninth victory in the last 10 matches.
 
With Friday's result, the Buffs secured the four seed in the conference tournament, where they will play the five seed in the opening round of the single-elimination tourney starting Thursday, Nov. 12, in Kingsport, Tennessee. Currently, the fifth seed is tied between Tennessee Wesleyan and Columbia. Milligan swept Tennessee Wesleyan this season and looks to sweep Columbia in the regular-season finale on Saturday.
 
With the Buffs down 10-8 in what proved to be a pivotal first set, St. Andrews responded with four straight points to go up 12-10 and then scored four straight points again to turn a 13-13 tie into a 17-13 advantage. Milligan then battled back to one point at 17-16 and 20-19, and then down 21-18, used a 4-0 run featuring two kills by Bruinius to take a 23-21 lead.
 
The rest of the first set was a battle of back-and-forth kills as St. Andrews tied it with two kills, another kill by Bruinius made it 24-23, and then another from St. Andrews tied it up at 24.
 
Needing two consecutive points to win it, Milligan got a kill from Savannah Benton, but two kills by the Lady Knights gave them a 26-25 lead. After a strong kill by Marissa Langford to tie it again, two kills by St. Andrews ended the set at 28-26 to deliver a heartbreaking first-set loss to the Buffs.
 
Milligan seemed to run out of gas in the final two games. After Emilee Linkous recorded two early kills and Bruinuis' third kill of the set, a block by Jessica Davenport and an ace by Bruinius tied it at 10. However, the Lady Knights responded with three kills and an ace on a 5-0 run, and then featured two more kills on a 3-0 run to put themselves up 18-11 and all but put the set away.
 
In the final game, Linkous had three kills during Milligan's first four points, but St. Andrews used a small run of 5-2 to go up seven at 12-5. The closest the Buffs would get the rest of the set was within five at 15-10 when Bailey Thomas connected on a kill.
 
Bruinius and Linkous led the Buffs with eight kills apiece while Langford registered seven. Davenport earned 27 assists and Grace Ann Moorhouse had 19 digs.
 
Next up, the Buffs travel to Columbia, South Carolina, Saturday, Nov. 7, for a 1 p.m. showdown with Columbia College in the regular-season finale. The AAC tournament is set to follow Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 12-14, at the MeadowView Marriott in Kingsport, Tennessee.