MILLIGAN, Tenn. – The Milligan University women's volleyball squad was riding high after a huge five-set Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) triumph over Bryan on Friday. Another five-set tilt against the Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs took place on Saturday at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse, but this time, the result swung in favor of the visiting side. The Buffs fell by a tally of 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 25-19, 11-15.
The opening set began with a pair of TWU service aces, followed by a 9-4 lead for the visitors. But, the Buffaloes did not let that rattle them, as they scored eight out of the next 11 points to take a 12-11 lead. From there, Milligan only extended their edge, ending up with a 25-20 win.
Set number two looked like the Buffs were on their way to a dominant win and a 2-0 set lead with an advantage of 22-17. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs erased that deficit, plus scoring three more points to take the set by a final of 25-22.
Dating back to the second set, the TWU squad scored 10 straight points after starting the third frame with a 2-0 lead. It became a 4-1 Bulldogs edge, before the Buffaloes came alive with four straight points to take a 5-4 lead. From there, Milligan built their lead to any many as four at 18-14, but TWU stormed back and ended up taking the stanza, 25-23.
Milligan's most effective set as a squad was the fourth, in which they had a match-best 14 kills. It was still a back-and-forth set, as the Buffs led 7-2 to begin things, but the Bulldogs hit their way back into the battle. It was a 15-13 Tennessee Wesleyan lead, but then the Buffaloes put together a 12-4 stretch to close out the frame, tying the score at two sets apiece.
Set number five included just one lead for the Buffs at 2-1. From there, TWU put together an edge as large as four points at 10-6. Milligan had not quit yet, however, as they scored five of the next six points to tie the score at 11 all. On the other side, the Bulldogs snuffed out the momentum that MU had created with four straight points to end the match.
Shelby Miller led the way offensively with 13 kills on 45 swings, while hitting at .200.
Kira Ryan was also in double-digits with 11 putaways on 29 attacks with only three errors.
Erin Littleton and
Addison Varney both had eight kills on a combined 37 attempts.
Faith Wilson tallied 48 assists in the loss.
Grace Sanderson led the team with 18 digs and was followed by Wilson (14), Miller (12) and
Riley Brinn (10).
Taylor Brinn also had nine and
Kyndl Hodge picked up seven. The Buffs had 10 block assists and two solo rejections in the match, with Varney and Miller taking care of the solos. They also both had two assisted stops, while Littleton provided three, Ryan added two and Wilson had one.
With the loss, Milligan sits at 1-3 in AAC play, and will look to get another triumph on Tuesday, Sept. 30 on their home floor inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse against Bluefield University (Va.) at 6:30 p.m.
