By A. Brooke Whitley
The Milligan College Men’s Volleyball team lost to the University of Tennessee’s club team on Feb. 26. It was their first match on home court at the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
Set one and two were relatively close with Tennessee winning 25-19 and 25-20. The final set ended at 25-14. Assistant Head Coach, Joel Salva believes the match began well because of the energy gained from playing at home for the first time and the support of the crowd.
Each member of Milligan’s team had at least one defensive dig and Andrew Simonsen had a total of eight.
“Simonsen leads our defense and has shown the most improvement out of all players this year,” said Salva. The team total was 33 digs.
The floor captain Tony Miner, who according to Head Coach Doneva Bays has led Milligan in kills all season, finished the match with 16 of the team’s 30 total kills.
“He brings a competitive fire to the team,” said Salva.
Bryce Buckland was the only Milligan player with a service ace.
Hobie Vannoy, the team’s quarterback, drove the offense alongside Miner with 23 assists.
“This was our first match that collectively as a team we hit positive. This means we did a great job of bettering the ball and taking smart swings,” said Salva.
Milligan’s team hitting percentage was .082, which is determined by subtracting errors from kills and dividing that figure by total attacks.
Freshman Nathan Gibson played his first match with the team Wednesday after returning from an ankle injury suffered at the beginning of the season.
“I think consistently we just gave up a stupid point here and there. We let one point become two points; we just got stuck in holes,” said Vannoy.
Despite loss, the team has developed over their first season, according to Salva.
“They have learned so much about the game in such a short period of time,” said Salva. “This will only help multiply their progress once that mental understanding of the game is paired with the experience of competitive game play.”
Salva and the team look forward to the crowd in Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on March 6 when they play the final home match of the year against Bryan College.
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