Lady Buffs Earn Third Straight Win

By Hobie Vannoy

October 14, 2014

 

The Milligan College women’s volleyball team tied its season best win streak last night with a 3-1 (25-17, 28-26, 19-25, 25-16) triumph over the Montreat College Cavaliers in front of an ecstatic home crowd. 

 

The match was the fifth win n the last six games, by far the best stretch of the season for the Lady Buffs who are now 8-3 in the conference and 14-12 overall.  This stretch couldn’t have come at a better time as conference play dwindles to the end.

 

“We are always excited about a conference win,” head coach Doneva Bays said.  “We are growing as a team but are still inconsistent at times and that may hurt us as we move forward.”

 

The Lady Buffs showed little signs of inconsistency as they handled the Cavaliers efficiently in set one.  Sophomore outside hitter Samantha Bruinius started the set off strong for Milligan and set the pace for the team the rest of the match.  Bruinius totaled 5 kills in the first set and was nearly perfect attacking the ball.

 

Montreat found life in the second set as the Lady Buffs’ inconsistency started taking affect.  Up 20-16 late in the set, Milligan suffered a ball handling error and a couple of attacking errors that allowed Montreat to tie the game at 20-20.  The final stretch did not fall short of excitement as the set extended until an attacking error by Montreat gave the Lady Buffs the 28-26 victory.

 

Despite the nail-biting loss in the second set, the Cavaliers were able to recover and rally to a set three victory behind the leadership of senior Kathryn Rogers who totaled 6 kills in the set and 12 kills for the match.

 

“We had several lulls in the third set,” senior Kaitlyn Round said.  “But we showed tremendous heart as we fought back to make the score closer than it seemed.”

 

Montreat held a 21-15 lead in set three before Milligan went on its run to narrow the deficit before falling short.

 

The Lady Buffs were able to carry over the late momentum into game four to finish off the Cavaliers.  Milligan closed on an 11-3 that solidified the greatest margin of victory for either team in the match.

 

Bruinius led the Milligan offense with 14 kills and only two errors.  Junior setter Jessica Davenport totaled 37 assists on the night which now ties the conference lead in total assist and led the team in digs with 14.  As a team defensively, the Lady Buffs tied their season high with 11 total blocks in a match.

 

“Despite some inconsistent play, I’m very happy with how the girls finished,” Bays said.  “I’m also very excited with how the rest of our schedule looks.  We have a few tough games coming up, but I feel we are very capable of finishing strong going into the conference tournament.”

 

With the win, Milligan increased its lead over Columbia College for fourth place in the conference standings and is now one game behind Reinhardt for third place.

 

The Lady Buffs will host UVA-Wise Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m. in a nonconference matchup before hosting conference rival Bluefield Oct. 28.