Volleyball quartet named CSC Academic All-District

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (December 12, 2023) – Milligan University volleyball players Riley Brinn, Zoie Larkins, Ella Maiden and Shelby Miller were named Academic All-District by the College Sports Communicators on Tuesday.

Brinn is a junior business major with a 3.88 cumulative grade point average. A key member of Milligan's back line, she ranked second on the roster with 417 serve receptions and third on the team with 2.67 digs per set. Brinn had a season high 20 digs in the Buffs' four-set win at Bryan.

Larkins repeats as an Academic All-District selection after earning the honor last year at Francis Marion University. A math education major with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, Larkins appeared in every set as the Buffs' libero in 2023. She collected All-Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Second Team honors this season after leading the Buffs in service receptions (506), digs per set (3.96) and aces (30). Larkins ranked finished ninth in the AAC in digs per set and 14th in receptions. She notched her 1,000th career dig at St. Andrews.

Maiden, a junior middle blocker and business major with a 3.66 GPA, collects Academic All-District honors for the second-straight season. She was named the first NAIA Second Team All-American in progam history in 2023. She is a three-time All-AAC First Team honoree, a two-time AVCA All-Northeast Region First Team pick and was named to the 2023 AAC All-Tournament Team. Maiden led the nation with 70 solo blocks, ranked 10th in the NAIA with 1.25 blocks per set and was 11th nationally in hitting percentage (.358). Maiden was one of four players to average at least one block and three kills per set in 2023.

Miller is a sophomore engineering major with a 3.64 GPA. An outside hitter on the court, Miller repeated as an All-AAC Second Team selection in 2023. She ranked second on the roster with 3.00 kills per set and finished 10th in the AAC in kills (336) and 13th in hitting percentage (.220). Millier recorded double-digit kills in 21 games in 2023.

The Buffs enjoyed a record-breaking 2023 season. Milligan finished with a 26-7 record and went 19-2 in AAC play to finish second in the conference standings and set the program record for conference winning percentage (.905). Milligan's 13 sweeps in AAC play set a single-season team record and recorded a 15-game winning streak, the longest in team history.