PIKEVILLE, Ky. — On Tuesday evening, the Milligan University women's volleyball team made the trek north to the University of Pikeville in Kentucky to face the Bears. The undefeated Appalachian Athletic Conference leaders to this point in the season would hand the Buffaloes their seventh conference defeat in three sets (25-8, 25-17, 25-16).
After a nice start to the first set for Milligan, which resulted in a 6-5 lead through 11 points, the Buffaloes struggled mightily for the remainder of the opener. A 20-2 scoring run was managed by Pikeville to close out the set. That resulted in a 25-8 loss for MU to put them behind after one.
Milligan again competed in set two, but this time for the first 20 points, playing to a 10-10 tie. Six of the next seven points went the way of UPIKE, putting them ahead 16-11, and the final score would end up 25-17 in the hosts' favor.
With another tight start to the third set, Milligan continued to prove they could stick with the Bears for short spells. Unfortunately, another large run by the hosts (10-2) made it 15-7. From there, the Buffaloes were competitive, working back to a deficit as small as six points. Eventually, though, UPIKE stretched it back to nine points at the set's conclusion. They took the frame 25-16 and finished the sweep of MU.
Ashton Blair led the way for the Buffs, scoring nine kills on 25 attempts to attack at .200 for the match.
Taylor Brinn concluded the battle with five putaways on 20 swings, while
Erin Littleton and
Lacie Weatherman both finished with a pair of kills.
Bella Devoti was responsible for the one other termination by the Buffaloes.
Kyndl Hodge had all 19 assists for the squad.
Two MU players ended up with 10 or more digs in the loss.
Olivia Schoenstra picked up 12, while Blair was responsible for 10.
Rachel Bass added five of her own, Brinn supplied four and Hodge tallied three ups. Milligan did not record a block in the tilt.
Milligan (1-11, 1-7 AAC) goes back on the road for another AAC matchup this Friday, Oct. 2 for a 6:30 p.m. first serve against the Spartanburg Methodist College Pioneers in Spartanburg, S.C.
