MILLIGAN, Tenn. (October 8, 2022) – The Milligan University volleyball team defeated Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent Johnson (Tenn.) University 3-1 in Saturday afternoon's match at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
Milligan climbs to 12-8 (9-3 AAC) while Johnson falls to 8-8 overall (6-6 AAC).
The Buffs darted out to a 6-1 advantage behind four Johnson errors and two kills from Shelby Miller. The Royals battled back to tie it at 17 during a stretch where they scored four in a row eventually taking a 19-17 lead. After falling behind 24-21, Milligan tied it again with kills by Taylor Pavich, Sarah Grace Larkey and Ella Maiden. Johnson then slammed the door scoring the last two points to take the set 26-24.
Set two was controlled by the Buffs as they started out with a 2-0 lead and never looked back. Milligan held the advantage throughout the set and at one point, built their lead up to seven (21-14) with four points to go. Johnson trimmed the deficit to only three points (23-20) towards the end of the set but back-to-back kills from Larkey gave Milligan the set win 25-20.
The third set saw Johnson climb out to an early 8-4 lead. The Royals held on for the majority of the set but the Buffs used a five-one run to tie it at 19. Following a Milligan error, Johnson went up one point before the Buffs scored six of the last seven to take set three 25-21. Milligan took advantage of three consecutive Royals errors on the last three possessions to win the set.
The Buffs dominated the fourth set to secure the three-one win over Johnson. Milligan's biggest lead was eight points (19-11) as they left little room for error from the Royals. Johsnon fought back to make it a six-point match (22-16) but that was as close as they would come to any hopes of a comeback. The Buffs scored four of the last five to take a 25-17 set win behind kills from Miller, Pavich and Larkey.
Three Milligan players finished the day with double-digit kills as Miller collected 18 while Pavich ended with 12 and Larkey finished with 11. Kolbie Greene turned in her eleventh double-double of the season (45 assists, 27 digs) on a day where she had a career-high seven kills from the setter position.
Milligan will be back in action Tuesday for a road-matchup with Bryan College at 6:30 p.m.
