GAINESVILLE, Ga. – On Friday night in the Peach State, the Milligan University women's volleyball team went to the campus of Brenau University to face the Golden Tigers in search of their second Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) win of the season. It was not to be, however, as the Buffaloes squandered a 2-1 lead through three sets in a five-set defeat (25-23, 16-25, 25-18, 20-25, 6-15).

After the loss, the Buffaloes' record stands at 2-16 with a 1-5 AAC mark.

The opening stanza was a hard-fought battle, with Brenau jumping out to a 5-0 lead early on. It took some time for the Buffs to get back even, as they finally knotted up the tally at 17-17. The Golden Tigers then sped in front at 23-20 and things looked grim for Milligan. Three kills in a row by MU made it 23-23 before a pair of Brenau miscues gave the Buffaloes a 25-23 win.

Milligan did not have a positive set in the second, as they trailed by as many as 11 points at multiple times during the period, ultimately falling 25-16.
 
It was a return to the driver's seat for the Buffs in the third set, with MU scoring nine of the first 11 points to take  9-2 advantage. Brenau would close the deficit to as few as one point later in the set at 14-13, but from there, the Milligan attack took over. They scored 11 of the next 16 points to win the set 25-18.

Leading by four points at 12-8 in the fourth set, the Buffaloes allowed Brenau to tie things at 15-15. The Golden Tigers concocted a 7-1 run over the next eight points and grasped a commanding 22-16 lead. They ended up taking the stanza by a final of 25-20.

Milligan never had a chance in the fifth set, as they dug themselves a hole early, falling down 8-3. The Buffs would only score three more points en route to a 15-6 loss to clinch a five-set defeat.

On offense, Shelby Miller's 22 kills on 53 swings far outpaced the rest of the team, as Addison Varney added on nine putaways on 17 attempts and Bella Devoti terminated eight of her 21 swings. All three of them attacked at greater than a .260 clip. Erin Littleton's six kills and Riley Brinn's five were also strong performances. Faith Wilson dished out 30 assists, while Kyndl Hodge had five.

No Buffalo had double-digit digs in the match, but R. Brinn led the way with nine in the battle. Miller had seven, while Wilson and Grace Sanderson tallied six apiece. Hodge, Devoti and Littleton all had four. The block showed up, as 14 block assists were tallied overall. Littleton had a team-best six, while Courtney Nye tacked on three. Varney helped send back a pair, and Devoti, Wilson and Miller all took part in one block.

Right back to the floor go the Buffs on Saturday morning in Waleska, Ga. for a meeting with the AAC's top team at this point in the season, the Reinhardt University Eagles at 11 a.m.