GREENVILLE, SC – The Geneva College women's volleyball team finished up pool play on Friday morning with a tough five-set loss to the three-time defending champions Maranatha Baptist at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division II Volleyball Championship 19-25, 25-17, 25-13, 19-25, 13-15.  With the loss, Geneva finishes as the second seed out of its pool and will play the #1 seed Bob Jones University at 5:30 p.m. tonight in the semifinals.

The first set started as a back and forth affair, and Geneva looked to be in good shape after a kill from senior Sydney McNulty (State College, Pa./State College Area) put Geneva up 18-15.  However, Geneva fell apart from there, allowing Maranatha Baptist to finish the set on a 10-1 run to steal away the set.  The big run would prove to be a sign of things to come for Geneva.

Geneva responded with relatively easy wins in sets two and three.  The Golden Tornadoes steadily pulled away from the Sabercats in set two, and then they used a 15-point run in set three, on the service of freshman Renee Rectenwald (New Alexandria, Pa./Derry Area), to easily win the third set.

However, inconsistent stretches proved costly for Geneva in the final two sets.  With the Golden Tornadoes trailing 8-6 early in set four, Maranatha Baptist went on a 13-3 run to take control of the set and push the match to five sets.

In the fifth set, Geneva took an 8-7 lead on a kill from sophomore Daphne Hunsinger (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock).  However, another run from the Sabercats, this time five straight points, gave Maranatha Baptist a 12-8 lead, and despite a late push from the Golden Tornadoes, it proved to be too big of a hole to dig out of as Geneva lost the set, and the match, 15-13.

 "This was a match we felt like got away from us," Head Coach Wendy Smith said.  "When you are playing quality teams, you just can't afford to have stretches like we did today where you lose focus.  Fortunately, we get to come back tonight and get a chance to redeem things in the semifinals, and we're really looking forward to the challenge.  But this morning's effort won't be good enough if we want to advance any further in this tournament."

McNulty led the offense again with 22 kills.  Hunsinger had her seventh triple-double of the season with 36 assists, 19 digs, and 12 kills.

If Geneva is able to win its semifinal match this evening, the Golden Tornadoes would play for the championship tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.


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.