Volleyball wins sixth straight with sweep

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (Oct. 30, 2020) – Senior Carley Gregory posted a match-high 13 kills to lead the Milligan University women's volleyball team to a senior-night win Friday inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. The win, 25-23, 26-24, 25-20 over Columbia International, marked Milligan's sixth straight as the Buffaloes have gone undefeated in the last three weeks of the season.

Milligan (9-4) also further tightened its grip on a spot among the top three in the Appalachian Athletic Conference North Division and pulled to within one game of Union.

"This was a great team win," said Head Coach Doneva Bays after the match. "I'm so excited that we could play all of our seniors and honor them tonight. We are so appreciative of the impact they have made on our program. CIU is a great team and tonight was a huge win for us."

Match tallies

Sarah Grace Larkey followed Gregory closely with nine kills. Julia Codispoti had six kills, including a big one on match point, Abby Falcone had five kills, and Abigail Byington had four kills.

Taylor Pavich and Sydney Hurd tallied 21 assists and 14 assists, respectively, while Layla Grant and Cameron McConnell led the defensive effort with 17 digs and 15 digs, respectively.

Set by set

As the two-point margin would indicate, Milligan and CIU played a tight first couple of sets. Milligan had a big lead in the opening one, going ahead 15-8 and 20-14, before the Rams charged back with an 8-1 run to take the lead. It was 22-21, CIU, but Milligan answered in a big way to end the set on a 4-1 run. Larkey got the run going with a kill to tie it, then Gregory gave the Buffs their last two points with two kills in a span of three points.

The second set was close the whole way, with neither team leading by more than four points. The score was tied 21-21, 23-23 and 24-24 before a Codispoti kill and CIU error gave the Buffs the last two to take the set.

Following the theme of the first two sets, the third set was close nearly the whole way. At 22-20, Larkey, Gregory and Codispoti went back-to-back-to-back with three straight kills to finish the match.

Up next

Milligan has a quick turnaround to play St. Andrews Saturday morning at 11 a.m. After that, the Buffs have five matches left on the regular-season schedule.

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