Milligan drops Appalachian Athletic Conference opener to Bryan 

DAYTON, Tenn. (Sept. 5, 2019) – The Milligan College volleyball team opened up Appalachian Athletic Conference play at Bryan College and suffered their first conference loss of the season falling to Bryan in five sets (25-18, 25-17, 17-25, 18-25, 5-15). This is the first time Bryan has defeated Milligan since 2015. 

Set by set

Milligan came out hot as the Buffs had 14 kills in the first set and 12 in the second. Julia Codispoti had 17 kills total on the night with six of them being in the first set and five in the second. Milligan had a hitting percentage in the first match of .303, and .250 in the second match compared to Bryan's -.057 and .000 hitting percentage in the first and second matches respectively. 

After falling to Milligan in the first two sets, Bryan came out strong in the third set and did not let up. The Lions led the entire third set, out killing Milligan 15-10. Bryan stayed strong in the fourth set, only allowing Milligan to have the lead twice, and both times were only by one point. The Lions continued their power streak going into the fifth set, giving up their first point against Milligan when the score was 10-0. 

By the numbers

Kellee Geren guided the Buffs offensive attack with 44 assists and assisted the defensive efforts with ten digs, recording her second double-double of the season. Codispoti, along with Alyssa Gibson were Geren's top targets on the night as Gibson had the second most kills behind Codispoti with ten. Layla Grant led the defense with 28 digs. 

Bryan was led offensively by Anna Owens who had 13 kills, and Paige Randolph and Gigi Ford who had 12 kills apiece. Ford recorded a double-double with 13 digs, and Rheagan Kean led the Lion's defensive efforts with 28 digs. 

Up next

Milligan travels to Nashville to participate in the Music City Invitational hosted by Fisk University. Their first game on Friday is scheduled for 9 a.m. against Loyola University out of New Orleans, and at 5 p.m. against Huntington University out of Indiana. Then on day two of the tournament they will open with Georgetown College out of Kentucky at 9 a.m. and Campbellsville University also out of Kentucky at 3 p.m. 

The Buffs will return to Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Sept. 10, and face AAC newcomer Kentucky Christian.