Greene and Bays win major awards; Volleyball places five on all-conference teams

WALESKA, Ga. (November 8, 2023) – Junior Kolbie Greene and head coach Doneva Bays collected major awards as the Milligan University volleyball team had five players receive all-conference honors as the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) announced its postseason awards on Wednesday.

Greene was tabbed as the AAC Setter of the Year, following in the footsteps of Buff greats Chelsea Spivery, Jessica Davenport and Kellee Geren. Bays was named AAC Coach of the Year for the second time, previously receiving the honor in 2016.

Greene was also named Milligan's AAC Championships of Character honoree and was joined on the All-AAC First Team by junior middle blocker Ella Maiden. Junior libero Zoie Larkins and sophomore outside hitter Shelby Miller collected All-AAC Second Team honors. Freshman Avery Maiden was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team.

Greene led the AAC with 1,021 total assists and ranked third in the conference with 9.72 assists per set. In the 15-team AAC, Greene finished 12th in total digs (337) and 15th in digs per set (3.21) to lead all setters. She added 39 kills, 23 service aces and 26 total blocks.

Greene exceeded 40 digs eight times and posted a career-high 52 assists in a five-set victory over Johnson. She recorded 16 assists-digs double-doubles and saw her assists per set (9.88) and digs per set (3.55) rise in conference play.

Ella Maiden collected All-AAC First Team honors for the third-straight season. She led the Buffs and posted career-bests in kills per set (3.06), hitting percentage (.357), blocks per set (1.23) and points per set (4.1). Maiden finished the regular season as the AAC's leading in blocking, ranked second in hitting percentage, fourth in points per set and 12th in kills per set. Maiden's 67 solo blocks lead the nation and her 132 total blocks are the fifth-most nationally.

Maiden totaled 18 games with double-double kills and recorded at least one block in every contest. She had 10 kills and 11 total blocks in Milligan's five-et win at Bryan. In league play, she saw increases in kills per set (3.24), hitting percentage (.361) and blocks per set (1.31).

In her debut season with the Buffs, Larkins was the only player to appear in all 109 regular season sets for Milligan. Larkins let the Buffs with 420 digs (3.85 digs per set), 29 service aces and 471 receptions with a .961 reception percentage. Larkins ranked seventh in the conference in total digs and ninth in digs per set. She had four games with over 20 digs, including a season-high 25 in a key conference win at Reinhardt. Larkins surpassed 1,000 career digs during the 2023 season.

Miller collected second team all-conference honors for the second-straight season. She ranked second on the roster with 2.90 kills pet set with a .218 hitting percentage. Miller ranked 11th in the AAC in total kills (305) and 15th in hitting percentage. She recorded double-digit kills in 18 matches and had a season-high 19 kills against King.

Avery Maiden collected all-freshman laurels after a productive start to her Milligan career. She ranked third on the roster with 2.41 kills per set and 56 total blocks. Maiden notched 10 games with at least 10 kills, including a career-high 17 kills in the Buffs' five-set victory at Bryan.

Ella Maiden, Larkins, Miller, Riley Brinn, Kylie Haas, Kira Ryan and Greyson Stevens were named to the AAC All-Academic Team.

Milligan enjoyed a record-breaking 2023 regular season. The Buffs posted a 25-6 record and went 19-2 in AAC play to finish second in the conference standings and set the program record for conference winning percentage (.905). Milligan's 13 sweeps in AAC play set a single-season team record and the Buffs ended the year on a 14-game winning streak, tying for the longest in team history.

As the No. 2 seed in the AAC Tournament, Milligan will take on the winner of No. 7 Bluefield and No. 10 Union in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament on Nov. 10 at 1:30 p.m. at the MeadowView Marriott in Kingsport.