Milligan completes season sweep of Johnson (Tenn.) with 3-1 road win

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (October 9, 2021) – The Milligan University volleyball team went on the road to face off against Johnson (Tenn.) in their second Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup of the season. The Buffs won the first match at home 3-0. In the second match, Milligan won 3-1 at Johnson on Saturday morning.

The Buffs notch their seventh conference win on the year moving to a record of 9-13 (7-5 AAC). Johnson drops to a record of 13-11 (4-8 AAC) with the loss. Milligan won with a final scoreline of 25-22, 25-19, 22-25 and 25-16.

The Buffs began the match by jumping out to a quick 8-4 lead. Johnson then went on a 10-1 run to put them in front 14-9. After a Milligan timeout, the Buffs scored seven of the next eight points to go ahead by one point. After Johnson tied the set at 16, Sarah Grace Larkey knocked down four crucial kills down the stretch to give Milligan the win 25-21.

The second set was dominated by the Buffs. After climbing out in front 6-1, Milligan reeled off two 4-0 runs to give them a commanding lead. Despite being down 23-11, Johnson was able to make things interesting towards the end of the set scoring eight of the last ten.

Milligan began the third set quickly going up 8-4. Johnson was able to rebound scoring nine of the next eleven to make the score 13-10. Following the 9-2 run, the Buffs tied the game at 13 off an attacking error by Johnson. Milligan was able to keep things close falling behind by only one point but ultimately dropping the set 25-22.

The final set was all Milligan as they soared to an easy victory 25-16. Once again, the Buffs capped off two 4-0 runs giving them a comfortable lead throughout the set. Johnson tied it at 2-2 early; however, that was as close as they were able to get as Milligan was able to put together a strong offensive performance in the final set.

The Buffs offense set a season high with 65 kills. Ella Maiden led the charge wit 16 kills, a hitting percentage of .483 and five blocks. Carley Gregory had 13 kills, Larkey and Elise Gregory had nine apiece.

Taylor Pavich dished out 48 assists on the day and had six kills and seven total blocks. Paxton Adkins tallied 24 digs in the match in addition to Cameron McConnell's 16.

The Buffs return home on Tuesday night facing off against Bryan College at 6:30 p.m. in Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.