COLUMBIA, Ky. (Sept. 1, 2017) â€" The Milligan women's volleyball team traveled to Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky Friday morning to play in the Crossover Tournament. The Buffs fell to Bethel University in five sets (24-26, 25-22, 25-21, 19-25, 15-9) and College of Coastal Georgia in four sets (25-23, 17-25, 25-13, 25-14).
 
Marissa Langford led the Buffaloes in kills in both matches of the day. Langford had a career high of 27 kills in the Bethel match. Junior Alyssa Rupert also had a career high of 32 digs. Teammate Kellee Geren was three shy of her career high (56) assists. Milligan got out front early by taking the first set 26-24. The rest of the games were decided by six points or fewer.
 
The final game of the first match was tied 8-8 until Bethel closed the match on a 7-1 run. Freshman Julia Codispoti helped the Buffs with 11 kills while senior Alora Ricker had nine kills. Ricker and Geren combined for 31 digs.
 
Though the first set of the second match was close and taken by Coastal Georgia, the Buffs came back out in the second set ready to win. The Buffs responded with the first three points and never trailed. They had their largest lead of the match at 21-12. The first two sets of the second match, along with the five-setter earlier in the day, depleted the Buffaloes' energy and Coastal Georgia went on to win the next two sets (25-13, 25-14).
 
The Buffs will continue to compete at the Crossover Tournament Saturday at 4 p.m. against Martin Methodist College and again at 8 p.m. against University of Mobile.