NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Geneva College women's volleyball team made the trip to Westminster College on Tuesday evening knowing it would need to play its best match of the season to defeat the Titans.  Westminster came in on a 15-game winning streak, and the Titans continued that streak as the Golden Tornadoes found Westminster to be too tough to defeat, losing in straight sets 15-25, 19-25, 25-27.  Westminster improved to 20-1, 7-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Geneva fell to 10-8, 4-5 in the PAC.
 
Unlike recent matches where Geneva came out strong and won the early sets, the Golden Tornadoes could not get any traction early against the Titans.  In set one, tied at 7-7, Westminster went on a 9-1 run to take a 16-8 lead, and Geneva could never climb back into the set.
 
The same pattern occurred in the second set.  Tied at 5-5, Westminster had a 6-1 run to take an 11-6 lead, and the Golden Tornadoes could never get closer than two points the rest of the set. 
 
Geneva began to play better in the third set, as the final set went back in forth.  Geneva led 22-20, and had two set points later in the set, but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't finish things off as Westminster took the set, and the match, 25-27.
 
"Westminster is really playing well right now, so we knew they would be tough to beat," Head Coach Wendy Smith commented.  "That said, I was disappointed we weren't more competitive early on.  We have been right there in every match we've played so far in the conference, including our first matchup with Westminster, but tonight we just didn't play anywhere near well enough to win against a good team like Westminster.  We've proven we have the talent to play with the top teams in the conference, we just haven't been able to put it all together yet and play consistently from set to set and from match to match."
 
Sophomore Daphne Hunsinger (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock) once again led the Golden Tornadoes with another double-double, contributing 28 assists and 17 digs.  Junior Kacey Costal (Salem, Ohio/Salem) led the offense with 11 kills, while freshman Kayla Coughlin (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) added 18 digs.
 
Geneva will remain on the road when it travels to John Carroll on Thursday night for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference matchup.


Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 80 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs, and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top Three Best Value Regional University with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world.