MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Aug. 31, 2018) â€" Milligan College wrapped up day one of the Milligan Mountain Madness volleyball tournament with a split of their two matches Friday at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. In the opener, the Buffaloes (4-1) swept Midway (0-1) in straight sets (25-19, 25-23, 25-16), before falling in four sets to University of St. Francis (16-25, 25-20, 13-25, 17-25) to close out the night.

MILLIGAN SWEEPS MIDWAY
Freshman Elise Gregory continued her strong start to the season leading the Buffs with 12 kills in their straight set win over Midway. Gregory came up just shy of a double-double finishing with eight digs, while also posting a .333 hitting percentage.

Alyssa Gibson solidified the Buffs offensive attack by adding 10 kills on 25 attempts for a .280 hitting percentage. Kellee Geren posted 27 assists for an average of nine per set and recorded her first double-double of the season with 10 digs. Alyssa Rupert also dug out a match-high 25 attacks.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair between the two teams, but Milligan used an 11-5 run after the score was even at 14 apiece to put the Eagles away.

Midway made a strong push late in the second set after the Buffs jumped out to a quick start, but a kill by Gregory off an assist from Geren gave Milligan a 25-23 set win.

After trailing 10-6 in the third game, the Buffs used a 19-6 run to cap off the match, ending with a kill from Jericka Emert.

Midway was led by Gracee Murphy who posted nine kills.

BUFFS COME UP SHORT IN SECOND MATCH
Geren and Gregory both logged their second double-doubles of the season in the second match of the day against the Cougars (9-2). Geren organized the offense with 29 assists, while also coming up with 10 digs. Gregory wrapped up her day with a match-high 16 kills and also added 10 digs.

Gibson finished behind Gregory with seven kills, and Rupert recorded 32 digs to lead all players.

Milligan hung tough in the first set, but couldn't get close enough to make a run. The Buffs found new energy in the second frame building as big of a lead as seven with Rupert closing out the set win with a service ace. The third and fourth sets were controlled by St. Francis who kept Milligan at arm's length throughout.

St. Francis was led by Ava Kunkler with 14 kills and Megan Diagostino with 11.

UP NEXT
Milligan returns to action Saturday morning for day two of Milligan Mountain Madness. The Buffs will host Asbury at 11 a.m. and University of the Cumberlands at 3 p.m. A week from Saturday, Milligan will open up Appalachian Athletic Conference play when they host Truett McConnell at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse beginning at 11 a.m.

ðŸ"·: Robert Kell, Creative Story Visuals