MILLIGAN, Tenn. – On Friday night, Milligan University's women's volleyball team hosted an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest against the Montreat College Cavaliers at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. Despite it being fall break on the campus of Milligan, the Buffs ignited the home crowd after narrowly falling in the first two sets, by rallying for a thrilling reverse sweep victory, 3-2 (19-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 17-15).
In the opening set, Milligan jumped out to a 5-2 lead behind an
Erin Littleton service ace. Montreat answered with an 8-2 run to take a three-point lead and force a Milligan timeout. Coming out of the timeout,
Kyndl Hodge set up Littleton for back-to-back kills that pulled the Buffs within a point at 15-16. However, the Cavaliers scored four of the next five points to open up a four-point lead, and despite late kills from
Clare Clark and
Morgan Lambert, Montreat closed out the set with three straight points to take it 25-19.
To begin the second set, the Cavaliers took an early 6-2 lead, but the Buffs scored four of the next six points behind a Hodge ace and a
Bella Devoti kill to pull within two at 8-6. From there, Montreat used a 5-0 run, aided by Milligan attacking errors, to open up a seven-point lead. However, in what would become a theme of the night, the Buffs had an answer, rattling off a 6-0 spurt to trail by just a point at 13-12. The two sides traded points the rest of the way, and Montreat's lead was still just one at 23-22 before the Cavaliers scored the final two points to take the set 25-22 and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Facing a 2-0 deficit, Milligan put together one of its best starts to a set this season.
Taylor Brinn opened the set with three straight aces, and the Buffs scored 10 of the first 13 points to take a 10-3 lead. Milligan held the advantage behind kills from Devoti and Littleton, and an
Olivia Schoenstra ace put the Buffs ahead 16-9. The Cavaliers answered with a 5-0 run to pull within two, but the Buffs were not rattled, scoring five of the next seven points to push the lead back to five at 21-16. Montreat made things interesting with a late burst to tie the set at 23, but Devoti and Clark scored the final two points to give the Buffs a 25-23 win in the third set.
Looking to force a fifth set, the Buffs again jumped out early, taking the first three points behind an
Ashton Blair kill, and they still led by three at 7-4 after a Montreat error. The Cavaliers then scored five straight to take the lead, but Milligan answered by scoring four of the next five points behind kills from Littleton and
Lacie Weatherman to go up 11-10. The two sides traded points until the set was tied at 17, when four straight Milligan points, capped by a Weatherman kill, sparked the home crowd and gave the Buffs a 21-17 lead. Montreat called a timeout, but it couldn't slow Milligan's momentum, as the Buffs scored four of the next five points to take the set 25-18 and force a fifth.
The deciding set swung back and forth early, as the two sides traded points until the score was tied at 6-6. The Cavaliers then went on a 5-0 run to take an 11-6 lead, putting the Buffs behind the eight ball and forcing a Milligan timeout. Once again, Milligan showed its grit by answering the run, and a Lambert kill pulled the Buffs within two at 12-10. Montreat regained the momentum, though, and was a point away from victory at 14-11. With their backs against the wall, the Buffs leaned on Littleton, who delivered two kills, and freshman Blair added an ace to tie the set at 14. The Cavaliers scored next to earn another match point, but Milligan's grit came through again. Kills from Littleton and Devoti gave the Buffs a 16-15 lead and sent Littleton to the service line, where she delivered an ace to cap her incredible fifth set and seal the reverse sweep with a 17-15 win.
Offensively, Devoti and Littleton powered the Buffs, combining for 36 kills. Devoti led the team with 19 kills, but Littleton was the most efficient hitter on the floor, putting away 17 kills on just 26 swings with only two errors for a blistering .577 attack percentage. Littleton saved her biggest swings for the end, delivering three kills with Milligan facing match point in the fifth set before closing the match with an ace. Blair added nine kills, and Weatherman chipped in six. Hodge ran the offense with 52 assists and added 11 digs for a double-double.
At the service line, Milligan totaled 15 aces, with Blair, Brinn and
Rachel Bass recording three apiece and Hodge, Littleton and Schoenstra adding two each.
On the defensive side, Blair led the way with 15 digs, followed by 11 each from Brinn and Hodge and nine from Bass. Schoenstra added seven digs, while Devoti and Lambert each picked up five. At the net, the Buffs combined for three team blocks, with Clark recording two block assists and Hodge, Littleton, Devoti and Weatherman each adding one.
Milligan (2-14, 2-10 AAC) will look to build on the clutch performance when it hosts Bluefield University on Tuesday, Oct. 13. The Buffs beat the Rams earlier this season, and first serve at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse is set for 6:30 p.m.
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