Milligan’s Women Volleyball Team Kicks Off the 2019 Season

The 2019 season of Milligan’s women’s volleyball team is now in full swing. They kicked off their season in August with the annual Milligan Mountain Madness tournament where they swept 2-0 on Saturday against Michigan-Dearborn University and Bethel University. On Friday, the ladies went 1-1 with the loss against Keiser University, and Saturday they won against Midway University.

The following weekend, the women traveled to Nashville for the Music City Invitational hosted by Fisk University where they finished 2-2. 

The tournaments were insightful for the Buffs. “It showed us what we need to work on, what we need to get tougher in and our strengths,” said Julia Codispoti, a junior middle blocker. “We started out our season with a hard loss which is a huge setback, but I think we have the fight and grit to pull ourselves back up and finish the season strong.” 

Last season, the team placed second in the conference tournament, and because of their conference record, they automatically earned a spot in the NAIA National Championship. 

Unfortunately for the Buffs, their run came to an end after the first round of the tournament. They were beaten by three teams, one of which was the number one ranked team in the NAIA. 

On the first day of the tournament for the Buffs, the team split 1-1 with a loss to Keiser University in straight sets and a win against Midway University in straight sets. Codispoti led the Buffs with 10 kills and combined with Elise Gregory, a sophomore, for 18 kills.

In the match with Keiser, Gregory led the offense with 14 kills. Unfortunately, it was not enough for the Buffs to take down the Seahawks. 

The ladies went into the second day strong and came out successful. They took down Michigan-Dearborn 3-1 and Bethel University 3-2. Codispoti led the team again in the match with Michigan-Dearborn with 15 kills. In the match against Bethel, senior Julie Dockery, led with 17 kills while Geren had 52 assists in the game. 

With the success of this tournament, the team is hopeful for a successful season. “It showed me how much my team loves this sport and really wants to win. I am super excited to see the growth of our team and the chemistry we will have,” said Codispoti. “I can’t wait!”

The Buffs’ next home match will be on Friday, Sept. 13  against Allen University. To see the rest of the schedule for the Lady Buffs, visit the Milligan athletics website.