WALESKA, Ga. (Sept. 23, 2017) â€" The Milligan College volleyball team finished the opening set strong but could not carry over the momentum in a four-set loss, 26-28, 25-11, 25-18, 25-15, at Reinhardt University on Saturday.
 
Senior Marissa Langford led Milligan (5-11, 3-4 AAC) with 14 kills while freshman Julia Codispoti added seven kills and seven digs. Kellee Geren tallied 28 assists, and Alyssa Rupert and Alora Ricker each had 14 digs.
 
Milligan and Reinhardt went back and forth through the first set until the Lady Eagles opened up their largest lead of the match at 22-16. Then, starting with an attack error from Reinhardt and a kill by Julie Dockery, Milligan went on a 12-4 run to claim the first set, 28-26. Milligan even trailed 24-21 in the opening frame but denied the Lady Eagles three set points. At 24-24, Dockery registered a service ace to go ahead, and five points later, Geren finished it with a service ace of her own.
 
Reinhardt bounced right back with a 7-1 run to start the second set, and went on to take the next three sets, 25-11, 25-18, 25-15. Milligan had it the closest in the third set when a kill by Langford put the Buffs up 10-9, but Reinhardt was able to finish the set on a 14-7 run, then did the same in the final set with a 19-9 run to end the match.
 
Next up, Milligan will play at Bluefield College in Bluefield, Virginia, on Tuesday, followed by a Friday match at Emory & Henry. The next home match for Milligan will be Tuesday, Oct. 3, when the Buffs face regional rival Montreat College at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.