MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Aug. 23, 2018) â€" A strong offensive day from Julie Dockery (17 kills and only one error) helped lead the Milligan College volleyball team to a sweep of their season opening tri-match Thursday at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. The Buffaloes swept both Fisk University (25-9, 25-14, 25-15) and Pensacola Christian College (25-20, 25-17, 25-14) in straight sets.

"Very pleased with our overall effort," said head coach Doneva Bays. "To be young I feel like we played with a lot of experience. We had great leadership and offense out of our middles, which were able to get established by our serve-receive. Excited to see how this team grows."

Milligan cruises past Fisk
Freshman Elise Gregory led the offensive charge for the Buffs (2-0) with a match-high 11 kills followed by Dockery with 10. Julia Codispoti added seven kills on eight attempts for a .750 hitting percentage that led the team. Kellee Geren orchestrated the offense with 36 assists, while Alyssa Rupert anchored the defense with 18 digs.

The Buffs jumped out to a 12-4 lead in set one and never look back outscoring Fisk 13-5 the rest of the way.

After falling behind 4-1 in game two, Milligan reeled off seven straight points to reclaim the lead. The Buffs would then go on to outscore the Bulldogs 17-10 to claim set number two.

In the final game, Milligan took an early 7-1 lead, but Fisk didn't go away quietly getting within two points, 10-8, before the Buffs pulled away for good with a 6-0 run.

Overall Milligan recorded 45 kills with a .458 hitting percentage, 45 digs and seven service aces. The Buffs defense held Fisk (0-3) to a .012 hitting percentage and only 17 kills in the match.

Buffs sweep Pensacola Christian
Dockery capped off her solid offensive day with a team-high seven kills, and Geren recorded 26 assists to facilitate the offense. Codispoti tied Dockery for the team-high in kills with seven of her own matching her total from the first match.

Defensively, the Buffs were led by Rupert who dug out 18 attacks, while Gregory posted nine.

Set number one saw both teams trade the lead back-and-forth with neither team being able to pull away until the Buffs did late. Trailing 20-19, Milligan rattled off six straight to close out the first game with a victory.

Milligan found themselves trailing in set two 12-9, but scored eight of the next nine points to jump back in front for good as they went on to take the game by a score of 25-17.

The Buffs finished off the Eagles (2-2) in set number three with relative ease by jumping out to a 12-3 lead and coasting the rest of the way to a match win.

Hannah Harmon and Baylee Jensen led the attack for Pensacola Christian both recording a match-high eight kills.

Up next
Milligan College will continue their nine game homestand at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night as they host the University of Virginia's College at Wise. Next weekend, the Buffaloes will host their annual Milligan Mountain Madness at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. Milligan will play Midway University at 4 p.m. and University of St. Francis at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31. Saturday, the Buffs will matchup against Asbury University at 11 a.m. and University of the Cumberlands at 3 p.m.