MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Sept. 15, 2017) â€" Led by 13 kills from senior Marissa Langford and a double-double from senior Alora Ricker, the Milligan College volleyball team got back on the winning track Friday night with a sweep of Appalachian Athletic Conference foe Allen University, 25-14, 26-24, 25-16.
 
The first 12 points of the match ended up being a good indicator of the direction things were heading, with the Buffs jumping out to an 11-1 lead en route to the sweep. Seven Buffs registered multiple kills, four had eight or more digs, and two had double-doubles.
 
Milligan won the first game easily before using a 13-5 run, highlighted by kills from six players, midway through the second game to help pull ahead two games to none. Allen climbed back into it with a 10-1 run of its own toward the end of the second frame, but the Buffs answered with the last three points. A Langford kill at 23-24 saw Milligan deny a game point, then a Julie Dockery kill seconds later sealed the second set for Milligan, 26-24.
 
Milligan earned a quick lead of 4-1 early in the third set and never lost it. With Milligan maintaining their small lead in what proved to be the final game, the Buffs used another short run later in the set to extend the lead up to 18-11 then finished the match by winning the last five points. Freshman Julia Codispoti earned her fourth kill of the match to put the final stamp on the victory.
 
After Langford (13 kills) and Ricker (10 kills), Dockery finished next in the kill column with eight kills and only two errors. Ricker's double-double included 11 digs, 10 kills and three assists. Kellee Geren assisted 35 of the Buffs' kills while adding 11 digs, three kills, a service ace and an assisted block. Alyssa Rupert had 22 digs and three assists.
 
Milligan will have a quick turnaround for its next match as the Buffs host Columbia College Saturday morning at 11 a.m. After that, the Buffs will be home for another match on Tuesday as they host Bryan College at 6:30 p.m.