Buffs advance to quarterfinals of AAC tournament

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (November 10, 2021) — The Milligan University volleyball team defeated St. Andrews University 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-22) in the first round of the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament.

The Buffs add to their win total on the season moving up to 14-18 while St. Andrews ends their season with a record of 11-24.

After a tied match at 2-2, the Buffs went on to score the next five points to go ahead early in the first set. Shortly thereafter, Milligan went on another 5-0 run to put themselves in the lead by a score of 13-6. After the Knights trimmed the lead to four, the Buffs scored six of the last seven points to finish off St. Andrews 25-16.

After St. Andrews scored the first point of the second set, Milligan dominated the rest of the way. The Knights pulled within three points midway through, however, that was as close as they came to retaking the lead over the Buffs. Milligan closed out the second scoring nine of the last 12 points.

Set three came down to the wire after both teams traded points throughout its entirety. Milligan found themselves up by three points down the stretch before the Knights were able to reel off three points in a row to go ahead 22-21. Thanks to two Buffalo kills and two errors by St. Andrews, Milligan ended the match scoring the last four points en-route to a 25-22 victory.

Carley Gregory and Ella Maiden were the only attackers to finish the match with double-digit kills, recording 11 and 10.

Cameron McConnell led the Buffs on the defensive end racking up 22 digs in the match. Ashelyn Vandergriff and Layla Grant finished tied for second on the team in digs tallying eight on the day.

Two Milligan setters finished with double-digit assists with Taylor Pavich coming in with a team-high 17 and Kolbie Greene right behind her at 14.

The Buffs advance to the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament and will matchup against Bryan College tomorrow at 11:00 AM.