Volleyball wraps up Florida trip against No. 22 Madonna and Spring Arbor

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (August 19, 2021) – The Milligan University volleyball team wrapped up its season-opening Florida trip with a pair of matches against No. 22 Madonna and Spring Arbor on Thursday.

No. 22 Madonna 3, Milligan 0 (14-25, 13-25, 18-25)

Day two of the Keiser Invitational got off to an early 8:00 a.m. start for the Buffs against a nationally-ranked Madonna squad.

Madonna lived up to its billing with 52 kills and a .333 hitting percentage in the three-set match. The Crusaders hit .300 or better and logged 19 kills in sets one and three and 15 spikes in set two.

Freshman Ella Maiden and senior Carley Gregory led the way offensively with eight kills apiece.

Freshman setter Kolbie Greene recorded 22 assists, nine digs and two kills. Paxton Adkins had 16 digs.

Spring Arbor 3, Milligan 0 (22-25, 14-25, 20-25)

The first set between the Cougars and Buffs saw neither team lead by more than four points at any time. The Buffs used a late three-point spurt that featured a kill by Abigail Byington, an ace from Adkins and a hitting error by Spring Arbor to cut Spring Arbor's advantage to 21-20 but were not able to bring the score even the rest of the set and fell 25-22.

Strong hitting powered Spring Arbor to wins in sets two and three. The Cougars hit .310 in the second set and .324 in the third set. Spring Arbor jumped out to early double-digit leads in the final two sets and held on to collect 25-14 and 25-20 victories.

Maiden led Milligan with seven kills and four blocks. Gregory added six kills and a pair of blocks.

Greene recorded 11 assists, five digs and three kills. Taylor Pavich had nine assists and two solo blocks. Adkins led Milligan with 14 digs and two aces.

The Buffs return to action next weekend when they host Milligan Mountain Madness Aug. 27-28.