Ami Milligan

Just a few months ago, Ami Milligan finished a record-setting career at Albion College.

Milligan is a former Alpena High School volleyball standout and played under then head coach Melissa Doubek.

A solid high school career led her to making the decision to attend Albion College where she helped turn a program around, while leaving her own personal mark on the college.

The Britons struggled on the volleyball court two years prior to Milligan’s arrival. The team went just 5-49 in 2011-2012 and failed to win a single conference game during that two year stretch, going a combined 0-32 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play.

Milligan arrived in 2013, trading in her green and white for purple and gold. Albion slowly experienced changes after Milligan stepped on the court during her freshman season.

The Britons earned their first MIAA victory in two years early in the 2013 season with a thrilling 3-2 match win against Adrian College. Milligan had 18 assists in the victory.

That would be the only conference win Albion had during that season as they finished 6-22.

Despite another rough season for the Britons, Milligan earned the Most Improved Player award during her freshman season.

Albion finished with a 5-23 record in 2014, but beat Olivet College twice during the year to end the season with two MIAA wins.

For the second consecutive year, Milligan earned Most Improved Player honors and she was ready to take on a larger role during her junior season.

The turnaround began in 2015 as Milligan helped lead the Britons to a 16-14 overall record. It was the first time in five years that Albion had finished with a winning record. The Britons finished 6-10 in the MIAA and Milligan was awarded team Most Valuable Player for her efforts during the 2015 season.

During this past season, Milligan ended her Albion career by again being awarded team MVP while leading the Britons to an 18-11 overall record. The 18 wins was the most by an Albion team since 1986. Despite another superb season in which she finished second in school history for assists in a season with 985, the Britons finished 7-9 in the MIAA and fell just short of making the conference playoff.

Milligan was the focal point in turning the Albion volleyball program around and she left with several individual honors. Along with the two team MVP awards, Milligan was selected as the MIAA Specialty Player of the Week on three different occasions, along with earning the Sports Imports/AVCA Division III National player of the week once.

Milligan ended her career averaging 9.1 assists per game and set two school records along the way.

Milligan is Albion’s all time double-double leader with 38 and she ended with 2,899 career assists to be the Britons all time leader.

“I’d like to thank my family, friends, teammates and coaches for the continuous support over the years. My experience at Albion College was nothing short of Incredible,” Milligan said “I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to extend my volleyball career in college and honored to represent Alpena athletics in a positive way.”

Jonny Zawacki can be reached via email at jzawacki@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5690.