MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Oct. 15, 2016) â€" The Milligan College volleyball team breezed through two more matches on Saturday by posting two sweeps at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on the final day of Big Buff Weekend. Milligan defeated Reinhardt University 25-12, 25-22, 25-20 before defeating St. Andrews University 25-11, 25-15, 26-24.
 
The day saw Milligan improve to 14-1 at home, where the Buffs have posted a set record of 42-7, and to 24-6 overall, including a league-best 13-2 mark. Currently Milligan is even with Union College atop the AAC but owns the tiebreaking decision for first place, having won one more set in the head-to-head meetings this season.
 
Senior Samantha Bruinius led the offensive effort for Milligan with a combined 31 kills in the two matches, and she posted the match high mark in the kill category in both matches. Junior Marissa Langford, who was recognized prior to the match for reaching 1,000 career kills earlier this week, followed next with 24 kills.
 
Milligan set the tone early in the first game of the first match, winning 12 of the first 13 points on the way to the easy sweep. The Buffs led 2-1 before taking 10 straight points on Bruinius' serve, and there was little trouble from there.
 
Bruinius led the way with a double-double consisting of 14 kills and 12 digs while Langford had 11 kills. Senior Charlie Bateman registered five kills with only one error, which came in the middle of the last set, and she also had a dig and was part of seven blocks.
 
Freshman setter Kellee Geren finished the morning match with 30 assists, and senior libero Grace Ann Moorhouse had 20 digs.
 
Milligan then picked up with that same momentum from the first match and carried it over into the second match versus St. Andrews. Similar to the first set against Reinhardt, Milligan rattled off 10 straight points on Jadin Foster's serve toward the end of the first set against SAU.
 
After taking the second set by another one-sided score, Milligan finished strong in the third by denying St. Andrews two set points and winning the last four point to close the match out 26-24 in the third. Geren had a kill on somewhat of a broken play to make it 24-23; Geren and Bateman registered a huge block to make it 24-24; and after an error by the Lady Knights, Bateman finished the match with a solo block, her ninth block of the match.
 
Three Buffs were in double figures in the dig category against St. Andrews, led by Moorhouse with 18. Geren had 11 digs, and Bruinius had 10 digs. Alyssa Rupert registered nine digs, and Geren had 32 assists.
 
Milligan will continue the season on Tuesday, Oct. 18, against AAC foe Tennessee Wesleyan University beginning at 6:30 p.m. inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.