MILLIGAN, Tenn. — On Friday evening, the Milligan University women's volleyball team hosted the Koalas of Columbia College (S.C.) for their dig pink match to support breast cancer awareness inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup also marked alumni appreciation night as a part homecoming week at Milligan. The Buffaloes ended up capturing a lead early and won convincingly in the end for their first sweep at home of the 2025 campaign (25-12, 25-10, 25-22).

The Buffs jumped out to an early lead in the battle against the Koalas, as they scored nine of the game's first 12 points behind a pair of service aces from Taylor Brinn. They slowly extended the lead throughout the set by taking advantage of Columbia's miscues, culminating in their largest edge at 23-10. Despite the Koalas tacking on two points late in the set, the Buffs clung to their convincing lead to secure a victory 25-12.

After snagging the first set, MU raced out front again to begin the second, scoring a 7-1 run before a quick timeout taken by the Koalas. The stoppage was not enough to stop the Buffs charge, as they extended the lead to 18-7 behind a pair of service aces from Faith Wilson and a trio of kills from Bella Devoti. From there, Devoti continued tormenting the defense, adding another termination, while Addison Varney and Kira Ryan added kills of their to own to give the Buffs a 22-9 lead. Milligan closed out the set behind a kill from Erin Littleton and an ace from T. Brinn to win 25-10

Milligan started the third set with a 4-0 run behind three aces from Wilson and a kill from Varney. Columbia (S.C.) responded a 3-0 run of their own but could not stay away from committing errors, as they were unable to gain their second lead of the contest and their first since the first set. MU would go on to take a 15-7 lead before a timeout stopped the action. Coming out the break, the Buffs took a 19-11 lead behind kills from Kira Ryan and Devoti. The Koalas responded with 5-0 run to force the first timeout from the Buffs. Columbia continued their late pressure getting to within two points at 20-22. However, Milligan finished the set with a pair of kills from Devoti and a Riley Brinn kill to take the third and final set by a score of 25-22.

Devoti led a balanced Milligan attack on the night, amassing 9 kills on only 18 swings with just a pair of errors, totaling a .389 attacking percentage. Ryan was not far behind with seven kills on 16 attempts and Erin Littleton added six on 11 tries. Varney was the most efficient attacker with five kills on a .714 clip. Riley Brinn had the most swings at 21 for five kills, and Wilson and T. Brinn each chipped in one kill. Wilson led the way with 30 assists in the triumphant effort.

Grace Sanderson's 9 digs earned her the top mark on the team in the victory, with Riley Brinn as the next-most prolific in that category with eight. Wilson added seven, and Olivia Schoenstra picked up four, while Devoti had two and Ryan added one.

One of the most impressive stats from the contest was Milligan's 14 service aces against the Koalas' three. Wilson had five and T. Brinn had four to lead the Buffs.

With the victory, the Buffaloes now hold a 5-9 AAC mark with five conference matches remaining on the season. On Tuesday, Oct. 28 they travel to Pikeville, Ky. to face off against Pikeville at 6:30 p.m.