MILLIGAN, Tenn. – Milligan University's women's volleyball program split a pair of matches on Saturday morning inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse against Johnson and Carolina (N.C.). The Buffaloes picked up a win in one set but lost in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup against Johnson, but they finished on a high note in the non-conference matchup later in the afternoon against Carolina (N.C.) picking up a 3-1 victory.

Game 1 – Johnson 3, Milligan 1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20)

Johnson jumped out an early lead in the first set against Milligan by scoring six of the first seven points. The Buffs responded with a 6-3 scoring run behind a trio of kills from Shelby Miller as well as an ace from Miller. From there, the Royals opened a lead of 18-11 and continued to build it over the next points.MU made a push late behind two more Miller kills and a Miller ace, but it was not enough as they fell 25-20 in the set.

The second set started with the exchanging of points from both sides resulting in a 3-3 tie. Then, Milligan scored 11 of the next 17 points behind an Addison Varney kill and Johnson miscues. The Buffs grew the lead to 21-14 over the next points. Johnson responded by scoring four straight to bring them within three points. However, MU never relinquished the advantage and went on to capture the second set 25-22 behind a pair of kills from Miller, while Varney also added a kill.

The third set was tightly contested, with the Buffs falling behind by three points early but battled back to even the score at 13-13. Johnson rattled off two points in a row and then the two sides consistently traded scores, with the Royals maintaining their slim advantage. Late in the set, back-to-back terminations from Miller brought the Buffs within a point, but they were unable to get over the hump and dropped the third set 25-21.

The fourth set saw the Buffs stumble out of the gates, as Johnson went on 7-0 scoring run to gain control of the set. The Royals kept the Buffs from making a run of their own and extended their lead to as many as 10 at 21-11. Despite five late errors in a row from Johnson, they kept their composure and closed out set (25-20) and match (3-1).

Miller's 18 kills led the team on 41 swings with five errors. Varney added 11 kills on 27 tries with only three miscues. Bella Devoti added on 10 kills and Kira Ryan added 5. Faith Wilson dished out 39 assists. Grace Sanderson's 17 digs were a team-best total for the battle and Wilson provided 14 pickups, as well. R. Brinn and Olivia Schoenstra were also in double-digits with 10.

Game 2 – Milligan 3, Carolina 1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-15)

The opening set started with exchanging of runs, as Carolina (N.C.) started with a 4-0 run and Milligan responded with a 4-0 run. The score was tied at 10 when Carolina went on their second run of 8-2. The Buffs were unable to overcame this and eventually fell in the first set 25-19.

After the loss in the first set Milligan decided to turn the momentum by scoring the first five points behind Carolina miscues and a Courtney Nye kill. The Buffs held their largest lead at 14-4. The Bruins answered by scoring seven unanswered points. Following the Bruins attack, the Buffs recaptured control of the game with a pair of kills from Varney, kills from Nye and Erin Littleton, and a Wilson ace to take the lead 21-14. Despite late pressure from the Bruins, Milligan held on to take the set 25-20.

MU continued their momentum from the second set into the third by jumping out to an 11-7 advantage. They slowly extended that lead to six behind three kills from Devoti. The rest of the set proved to be the Devoti show, as she put away three more balls to lead the Buffs to 25-21 victory in the second-to-last frame.

Milligan wasted no time putting the game away in the fourth set, as they immediately took an 11-2 lead. Carolina (N.C.) worked to get back into the game getting to within three points, but Milligan scored the final seven points of the set behind terminations from Littleton to close the door. They won the set by a score 25-15 and the match 3-1.

Devoti led the Milligan attack with 16 kills, with Varney and Littleton both reaching double digits with 10. Ryan and Nye each added six. Wilson had a staggering 43 assists, while Ryan, R. Brinn, and Sanderson had one, respectively. R. Brinn had a team high 19 digs, with the next-highest total being Sanderson with 17 and 16 from Taylor Brinn. Wilson dug up seven shots. Wilson and Varney each had two block assists in the contest. Littleton and Nye each had one block assist and a solo block.

Next on the docket for the Buffaloes is their penultimate regular-season battle of the campaign, as they face off with the Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan University on Tuesday, Nov. 4 in Athens, Tenn. The Buffs are in a battle for the No. 10 spot in the AAC Tournament with Truett McConnell, who hold the tiebreaker over Milligan with a head-to-head win.