FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Friday's pair of contests in the Hoosier State for the Milligan University women's volleyball team resulted in defeat for the Buffs, as they faced off with WVU Tech (W.Va.) and Indiana Tech at the Liz Lykowski Memorial Tournament in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Game 1 – WVU Tech 3, Milligan 0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-23)

In the Buffaloes' first contest of the weekend, they went up against the Golden Bears of WVU Tech, looking to get off on the right foot. The squad had their best showing of the day in their first set of the battle, they produced their best results, statistically speaking. After the Buffs led the set 19-16, though, it was the Golden Bears who rattled off nine of the next 10 points to win the set 25-20.

The two sides played to a 7-7 tie to start the second frame, but WVU Tech surged ahead with the next four points and were able to gradually build that advantage until the close out a 25-19 set triumph over the Buffaloes.

Stanza number three was dominated by Milligan in the early stages, as they notched six of the first seven points. But the Golden Bears rallied again, jumping ahead 15-11 with a 14-5 run. Milligan would battle back to tie the score at 22-22, but allowed three of the next four to go the way of WVU Tech, closing out the 25-23 loss to end the bout.

Shelby Miller returned to the court with a team-high 10 kills on 32 swings with five errors, attacking at .156. Erin Littleton, on limited opportunities, scored six putaways on nine attempts. Kira Ryan, Addison Varney and Bella Devoti each chipped in five kills, as well. Faith Wilson tallied 21 assists, and Kyndl Hodge dished out nine.

Riley Brinn's 13 digs led the way for the Buffaloes, as Grace Sanderson added 10 of her own as the two MU players with double-digit digs. Littleton rejected three swings on her own, while Devoti also had a solo block. Taylor Brinn and Varney teamed up for a block, as well.

Game 2 – Indiana Tech 3, Milligan 0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-14)

Milligan would face the Indiana Tech Warriors in the second matchup of the day, as the Warriors are currently receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll. That pedigree showed in the opening set, as Milligan was able to stick with the Warriors at 10-10, until IT got going and rumbled to a 25-14 win over the Buffaloes.

Similarly, in the second set, MU fought to a 9-9 tie, before Indiana Tech raced out to an 18-11 edge. From that point the Buffs could not make up any ground, dropping the set 25-19.

Indiana Tech vaulted to an 8-2 lead in the third set, effectively closing the door on the Buffs, as they dropped the match's final stanza by the same score as the first, 25-14.

Miller had nine kills to total 19 for the day, while Devoti had eight kills on 18 attempts for a sparkling .389 attacking clip, committing only one error. Ryan was able to convert three of her six swings into kills, as well. Hodge led the team with 13 assists in this one, with Wilson adding on 11.

Miller had a team-best nine pickups, with T. Brinn providing eight. R. Brinn, Sanderson and Olivia Schoenstra had four, apiece. Miller had three block assists and one solo stuff, while Varney had three block assists. Littleton and Ryan teamed up for the remaining block.

The second day of the two-day tournament is on Saturday, and the Buffs are set to take on Defiance College (Ohio) at 12 p.m. and Indiana University-Southeast at 4 p.m.