BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (Sept. 11, 2018) â€" Alyssa Gibson's block in the decisive fifth set allowed the Milligan College volleyball team (8-2, 2-0) to escape Robsion Arena with a win (25-20, 25-21, 20-25, 16-25, 15-13) Tuesday night over Appalachian Athletic Conference rival Union College (3-9, 1-1).

The win was Head Coach Doneva Bays' 200th career coaching victory.

The Buffs seemed poise to put the match away in straight sets as they led 2-0 and built an early 7-1 advantage in the third set, but a massive surge by the Bulldogs put them right back in the match. In the final set, both teams traded blows back and forth, but Milligan used a 3-0 run to close out the hard-fought victory.

BY THE NUMBERS
Junior Julie Dockery led the Buffs offensively with 14 kills on 38 attempts and recorded five total blocks on the defensive end. Freshman Jericka Emert put forth her best performance of the season with 10 kills and a .381 hitting percentage. Elise Gregory posted her fifth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 15 digs.

Kellee Geren served up 39 total assists and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division I leader in digs/game, Alyssa Rupert, led the Buffs with 38 digs. Cameron McConnell assisted Rupert on the back row with a career-high 12 digs. Gibson posted a season-high four blocks in the victory to go along with five kills.

Overall, it was a battle at the net for both teams as the Buffs recorded eight team blocks to Union's 13. Each team recorded six service aces on the night in a highly contested battle.

SET-BY-SET
Milligan built as large of a lead as six in the first set and closed out the game on a 6-3 run to jump out to an early 1-0 advantage in the match. In a competitive second game, the Buffs once again secured the set win with a 6-3 run after the Bulldogs had trimmed the deficit to one.

The Buffs came out firing on all cylinders in the third set building an early 7-1 lead and seemed headed towards a straight set victory, but the Bulldogs would respond with a 6-1 run to trim the advantage to one. Union would outscore the Buffs 18-12 the rest of the way to keep the match alive.

In the fourth, it was all Bulldogs as they never trailed closing the game on an 8-1 run to send the match to a decisive fifth set.

Both teams held three point advantages in the fifth, including a 12-9 lead for Union late. Milligan had to dig deep and thanks to a couple of Bulldog attack errors, were able to tie the game at 12.

After Union reclaimed the lead at 13-12, Dockery responded with back-to-back kills and Gibson sent the Buffs home with a victory thanks to a huge block at the net.

UP NEXT
Weather pending, Milligan is scheduled to visit fellow AAC member Allen University Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Buffs will return to Steve Lacy Fieldhouse Friday, Sept. 21, at 6:30 p.m. for an AAC match against Point University.