Buffs fall to Reinhardt in five-set thriller

Milligan, Tenn. (October 28, 2022) — The Milligan University volleyball team dropped a five-set match against Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent Reinhardt University in Friday evening's matchup in Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.

Both squads come out of tonight's match with a 16-12 overall record while Reinhardt holds the edge in the AAC standings. Milligan is 12-7 through 19 conference games while the Eagles sit at 14-4.

After beginning the first set down 3-0, the Buffs scored four straight points to retake the lead. Milligan led by four (17-13) midway through but Reinhardt clawed their way back to a one-point contest (18-17). The Buffs then scored the next three points; however, the Eagles answered with a 3-0 run of their own to make it 21-20 game heading into the final stages. The Buffs ended the first set scoring four consecutive points behind a Shelby Miller kill, Paxton Adkins ace and two Reinhardt attacking errors.

Reinhardt won the second set convincingly 25-14 while holding onto the lead for the entirety. The Buffs pulled within three points midway through (15-12) but the Eagles finished the job by scoring ten of the final 12 points.

Milligan bounced back to take a 2-1 lead in what was a very competitive third set. The Buffs held a three-point advantage at the midway point (15-12) behind back-to-back kills from Miller and Taylor Pavich. Reinhardt battled back to knot the match at 18 points apiece but the Buffs used a 5-0 run to take a 23-18 lead in the final stages of the third. The Eagles answered by scoring four of the next five to make it 24-22 but an attacking error ended any hopes of a comeback win.

The Buffs darted out to an early 8-4 lead in the fourth set but Reinhardt came storming back scoring 11 of the next 14 points to make it 15-11. Milligan fought their way back to a two-point deficit (16-14) but that was as close as they were able to get as the Eagles went on to force a fifth set with a 25-18 victory.

The fifth set saw Reinhardt climb out to a 4-0 lead before the Buffs scored five of the next six to tie the final set 5-5. After falling behind 10-7, Milligan scored five unanswered to take a two-point lead (12-10). Following an Eagle timeout, Reinhardt used a 5-1 run to secure the victory 15-13.

Ella Maiden (14), alongside Miller (13), finished the night with double-digit kills and accounted for 18.5 and 13 points respectively. Kolbie Greene led the Buffs in the assist category with 36 to go along with 15 digs. Adkins anchored the defense with a team-high 20 digs.

The Buffs return to Steve Lacy Fieldhouse tomorrow for an AAC matchup with Point University at 11:00 a.m.