Milligan Volleyball's Win Streak Extinguished at Johnson

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Saturday, the Milligan University volleyball squad went on the road to defend their five-match winning streak at Johnson University in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) battle in Knoxville. The Buffaloes could not gain any sort of rhythm in the matchup, falling in straight sets to the hosting Royals (25-17, 25-19, 26-24). 

The Buffs could not get the train rolling in the first set, mimicking their last tilt at Tennessee Wesleyan in which they dropped 10 of the first 11 points. It was almost a carbon copy this time, as Johnson roared out to a quick 8-1 advantage to open the match. Coach Doneva Bays used her first timeout at that point. Milligan began to make some inroads following the stoppage, cutting the deficit to 14-9, when the Royals took their first timeout of the set. In the end, the hole was dug too deep by the Buffaloes early on, as they dropped the set, 25-17. 

Entering the second set, Milligan needed a dash of momentum to tilt their way, and after falling down 6-3 in the early stages of the set, the Buffs scored three straight to tie the score at 6-6. That short spurt of positive results lasted very little time, as Johnson scored eight of the next 10 points to take a commanding 14-8 advantage, leading to a Buffs timeout. After what looked to be another encouraging string of six of the following eight points, miscues hurt Milligan, leading to another coach Bays timeout with an 18-14 deficit. For the Buffs, getting things to click for a prolonged period of time was not easy, as they continued to get chances to capitalize, but failed to do so, dropping the set by a 25-19 tally. 

Set number three, a do-or-die set for the Buffs, started in a similar fashion. Milligan continued to struggle to be consistent, allowing Johnson to surge to an 11-6 lead. Putting themselves in a difficult spot, yet again, the Buffaloes scored five of the next six points to get the score to 12-11. The Royals would then attempt to quell the Milligan uprising with a timeout, but the Buffs continued to play inspired, reaching a 20-18 lead to cause the second Johnson timeout of the frame. The stoppage served the Royals well, as they scored four out of five to take a 22-21 lead in the waning moments. The Royals would end up controlling the rest of play and took a 26-24 triumph to sweep the Buffaloes. 

Milligan relied heavily upon Shelby Miller (10 kills, 34 attempts) and Avery Maiden (7 kills, 36 attempts) to be their offensive attack, while Ella Maiden was right on their tails with seven kills on 17 swings and boasted a .294 attacking clip. Kolbie Greene (17) and Faith Wilson (9) split the assist duties in the bout. 

Only Zoie Larkins managed 10 digs, with exactly that many in the contest, A. Maiden had nine, while Riley Brinn had eight. Addison Varney had four block assists to lead the team, with Greene, E. Maiden, A. Maiden and Sierra Still adding two apiece. Kylie Haas had a solo rejection and a block assist, and Miller added a stuff assist. 

After the disappointing end to their run, the Buffs sit at 9-6 overall and 4-2 in AAC play. They will look forward to erasing the bad taste from their mouths with a home tilt against Bryan College inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 6:30 p.m.