MILLIGAN, Tenn. — Milligan University's women's volleyball squad hosted the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) leaders, the University of Pikeville Bears, on Tuesday evening. The Buffaloes had a tough time against the undefeated conference foe, falling in straight sets, 3-0 (12-25, 13-25, 16-25).
Milligan kept the first set fairly tight for a while, battling to a 14-11 deficit near the halfway point of the frame. However, the remainder of the opening set was not what the Buffs had hoped for, as they gave up a 11-1 run over the final 12 points to fall 25-12. Milligan committed 10 attacking errors in the set, which made it tough to compete.
It was a different formula in the second set, as the Bears simply were unstoppable on offense. For as strong as Milligan's effort on offense was, as they attacked at .200 for the frame, Pikeville's was more than doubly effective (.581). After Milligan trailed 13-10, they gave up 12 of the final 15 points to fall 25-13 and give UPIKE a 2-0 lead.
The third set was nearly a carbon copy of the second, as the Bears attacked even more efficiently at .704 with 20 kills on just 27 attempts. Milligan had their best output with a .227 clip including eight kills and 22 tries. The Buffaloes trailed by four, 20-16, but would allow the final five points in a row for the visitors to give them a 25-16 win and a 3-0 sweep.
Milligan's top attacker was
Erin Littleton, who totaled seven kills on 13 attempts and just one error, racking up an efficient .462 clip.
Ashton Blair had six kills and
Bella Devoti added five.
Lacie Weatherman (2) and
Aleah Pickett (1) also had putaways.
Kyndl Hodge passed out 16 of the team's 18 assists.
Hodge,
Rachel Bass and
Taylor Brinn had six digs apiece to lead the Buffs.
Olivia Schoenstra added five, Blair picked up three and Devoti had the remaining dig. Devoti also provided the lone block of the night for MU, a solo stuff.
The Buffaloes (4-15, 4-11 AAC) now hit the road to Kimberlin Heights, Tenn. outside of Knoxville to face the Johnson University Royals on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m., as they look to get back in the win column as they push for a spot in the AAC Tournament with just four regular-season tilts remaining.
