BARBOURVILLE, Ky. – The Milligan university women's volleyball team returned to the court on Thursday evening in Barbourville, Ky., where they battled Union Commonwealth University in both teams' first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest of 2025. After leading the match two sets to one, the Buffaloes dropped the two remaining sets to fall 3-2 (25-22, 18-25, 25-22, 24-26, 10-15).
Following the long, excruciating bout, the Buffaloes' record stands at 1-11 overall and 0-1 in the AAC.

The opening set of the match was evenly played, as the score was 14-14 just beyond the halfway mark. Milligan then rode a 5-1 run to a 19-15 lead. They would be able to hold onto their advantage for the remainder of the set, grabbing a 25-22 first-set triumph.

In the next stanza, the Buffaloes trailed 8-7 after 15 points, but Union scored four of the next five points and ended up extending their lead to seven points at 25-18 at the conclusion of the set.

Milligan grabbed their second 25-22 win in the third set, as they trailed only once, at 1-0. They led by as many as seven at 18-11 before closing out the set to give MU a 2-1 lead in the bout.

For the fourth set, the Buffs spent much of the period trailing. The Bulldogs held a 24-20 lead, needing just one point to send the match to a fifth set. Milligan, however, picked up four straight points on two kills by Riley Brinn and two UCU attacking miscues. A Union Commonwealth timeout at 24-24 got their train back on the track, as they scored on two straight kills to win 26-24.

That brought the contest to its deciding fifth set, in which the Buffaloes came out slowly. The Bulldogs scored the first four points to put themselves in a commanding position. Milligan would battle back, trailing just 10-9 with a chance to complete the comeback. Then, however, UCU supplied a 5-1 run to slam the door shut on the Buffs' bid.

Shelby Miller had a stellar evening, concluding the match with 18 kills on 52 swings. She had six errors and hit .231 in her first AAC bout of the season. Addison Varney had nine kills on 19 attempts out of the middle. Erin Littleton and Kira Ryan added eight apiece, and Bella Devoti had seven. R. Brinn added a trio of putaways. Teaming up for 52 assists were Faith Wilson (31) and Kyndl Hodge (21).

R. Brinn and Wilson tied for the team lead in digs, picking up 12 each. Miller totaled 11 of her own, and Taylor Brinn also had double-digit digs, with 10. In the five-set match, Oliva Schoenstra, Grace Sanderson and Devoti all had nine digs, with Hodge picking up seven and Ryan totaling five. Varney had a team-best one solo block and three block assists. Miller had three block assists and both Wilson and Littleton provided two. Courtney Nye and Ryan had the remaining two.

Milligan will now be charged with taking down the Johnson University (Tenn.) Royals on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 11 a.m. in Knoxville. Following that match, the Buffs will play a neutral non-conference game against the Point University (Ga.) Skyhawks at Johnson at 1 p.m., looking to complete two wins in one day.