MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. – The Milligan College Volleyball Team (8-2) picked up a three-set sweep of visiting Emory & Henry College (0-1) by scores of 25-14, 25-20 and 25-20 Thursday evening. The match was the season opener for E&H.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Milligan 3, Emory & Henry 0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-20)
LOCATION – Milligan College, Tenn. – Steve Lacy Fieldhouse
RECORDS – Milligan (8-2, 1-0 AAC); Emory & Henry (0-1, 0-0 ODAC)
How It Happened
- Milligan jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the match thanks in part to a 7-2 run to start the opening set.
- In the second set, the two teams battled to a 13-all tie midway through, but a pair of 6-2 runs by the Buffaloes put them up 2-0 in the match.
- Emory & Henry got a three-point lead early in the third set and pushed their advantage to 17-14 later on.
- MC tied things up, 18-18, thanks to a 4-0 run and used a 6-1 scoring spurt to put the match away.
Milligan Individual Leaders
- Samanthan Bruinius led the way with 17 kills on a .343 (17-5-35) attack percentage.
- Marissa Langford also was a major contributor the attack with 11 kills and a .450 (11-2-20) hitting percentage.
- Kellee Geren notched a match-high 32 assists and added nine digs.
- Grace Ann Moorhouse contributed 11 digs as well.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Senior middle Kennady Thomason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) had 10 kills and two aces to lead the way on a .222 (10-4-27) outing.
- Senior outside hitter Hannah Doss (Meadowview, Va.) added seven kills while sophomore outside hitter Tori Holmberg (Wake Forest, N.C.) added six kills.
- Freshman setter Abigail Smiley (Abingdon, Va.) dished out 27 assists in her collegiate debut to go along with five digs and a block.
- Freshman defensive specialist Peyton Dotson (Abingdon, Va.) had a match-high 14 digs while senior libero Emily Hinshaw (Boone, N.C.) chipped in nine digs.
A Deeper Look
- Milligan posted a .238 hitting percentage for the match (39-15-101) compared to just .080 (33-24-112) for Emory & Henry.
- The Buffaloes outblocked the Wasps by a 7-3 margin and led in service aces, 4-3.
Notable
- The match against Milligan to begin the year breaks a seven-year streak of facing off against Ferrum College to start the season.
- The Buffaloes avenge a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-22) loss on Sept. 17, 2014 with tonight's victory.
- This is the first time in 12 years that Emory & Henry has opened the season with a loss (Sept. 1, 2004 vs. King).
Up Next
- Emory & Henry will travel to Danville, Virginia to play four matches in the 22nd Annual Cougar Classic on the campus of Averett University.
- The Wasps will face off against North Carolina Wesleyan College (noon) and Guilford College (4:00 p.m.) on Saturday.
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