CLEVELAND, Ga. – Milligan University's women's volleyball program absorbed a pair of straight-sets losses on the road on Saturday morning on the campus of Truett McConnell University (Ga.) against both the host Bears and the Bob Jones (S.C.) Bruins. The Buffaloes hung with their opposition in multiple sets, but were unable to close out a set in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup, nor the non-conference tilt.

Game 1 – Truett McConnell 3, Milligan 0 (25-15, 26-24, 27-25)

After the Buffs and Bears played to a 7-7 tie through the first 14 points of the opening set, it was the hosts who shot out front with a massive 13-3 run to take a 20-10 lead. There was no coming back from that for Milligan, as it was a disappointing 25-15 loss to open the tilt.

The second set was highly competitive, with the two sides playing to an even score at 11-11 through 22 points. Then, TMU scored five straight tallies to jump into control of the set. Milligan would not go away at that point, scoring 10 of the following 15 points to tie the score at 21-21. It did not end there, as the Buffs scored three of the next four points to take a 24-22 lead and had a pair of set points to work with. Unfortunately, the Bears scored four straight points to demoralize the MU attack and take a 2-0 lead.
 
It was much the same in the third set, with the Buffs falling behind by six points early but battled back to even the score at 10-10. Milligan would later lead 23-20 and allow four points in a row to TMU to fall behind 24-23, before rallying for the next two points to hold a set point at 25-24. Instead of converting, the Buffaloes allowed three straight points to clinch the straight-sets loss.

Shelby Miller's 14 kills led the team, though she took 55 swings with seven errors. Addison Varney added eight kills on 17 tries with only two miscues. Riley Brinn added on four kills and Bella Devoti had a trio. Faith Wilson dished out 29 assists.

Grace Sanderson's 19 digs were a team-best total for the battle and Wilson provided a season-best 15 pickups, as well. R. Brinn was also in double-digits with 11. Taylor Brinn provided eight and Miller picked up six. The block was nearly nonexistent with just one solo stiff by Varney and a block assist by Miller and R. Brinn. 

Game 2 – Bob Jones 3, Milligan 0 (25-18, 27-25, 25-22)

The opening set was simply Bob Jones incrementally adding to their advantage to take a 1-0 lead. The Buffs' largest run in the set was four straight points after trailing 13-7 to get back to 13-11. The Bruins closed out the set with a 25-18 win, equaling their largest lead of the set at seven points.

Incredibly, after fighting tooth and nail with the Bruins through the second set, the Buffs led by three points at 22-19 with a chance to close out a set for the third time on the day. Instead, Bob Jones tallied five of the next six points to hold set point at 24-23. The Buffaloes snuffed out that opportunity by scoring the following two to get their first set point of the match at 25-24. However, Bob Jones rattled off three points in a row to notch a 27-25 win of the second set, taking a stranglehold on the battle at 2-0. 

Another frustrating end to a set was upcoming for MU, as the Buffs were either tied or had led for the entirety of the third set, and held a 21-19 lead with a chance to finally clinch a stanza. Yet again, Bob Jones concocted a 6-1 run to close the match out 25-22 in a second sweep of the Buffaloes on the afternoon.

No Milligan attacker had more than nine kills, with Miller leading the way in that category. Devoti tallied six, while both R. Brinn and Varney added five. Kira Ryan supplied four for the squad and Courtney Nye tacked on three more. Wilson had 23 assists, while Kyndl Hodge helped set up eight putaways, as well.

Sanderson had an unbelievable 29 pickups in the loss, far outpacing her teammates, with the next-highest total being 11 from Miller. R. Brinn dug up 10 shots and both Hodge and Olivia Schoenstra tacked on eight. T. Brinn had seven, and both Nye and Wilson provided six. Varney, T. Brinn and Devoti all had one solo block.

After a difficult and frustrating afternoon for the Buffaloes (5-20, 4-8 AAC), they will be back in the gym on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at Bluefield University (Va.) at 6:30 p.m. looking to rebound against a squad that they fell to earlier this season inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.