STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Geneva College women's volleyball team participated in the Franciscan Dig Pink Invitational on Saturday, winning both matches against La Roche College and Franciscan University. Against La Roche, it took Geneva five sets, but the Golden Tornadoes ultimately prevailed 25-8, 21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-8. Against host Franciscan, Geneva won in straight sets 25-18, 25-14, 25-15. Geneva is now 5-2 on the season, 1-0 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play.
In the first match, Geneva jumped on La Roche early, dominating the first set on the way to an easy 25-8 set. However, La Roche used a 6-2 run midway through set two to take the second set, 25-21.
In set three, Geneva jumped out to a 9-4 lead, but La Roche once again responded with a 15-5 run to take a commanding 19-14 lead, and the Redhawks finished off the third set 25-22.
With their backs against the wall, the Golden Tornadoes responded in set four. Down 18-17, Geneva scored four straight points on its way to a 25-21 win, setting the stage for a fifth set. Geneva dominated that set, jumping out early, and finishing off the set, and the victory, 15-8.
Senior
Sydney McNulty led the team with 20 kills, while freshman
Elana Hoppel added 11. Sophomore
Daphne Hunsinger finished with 45 assists and 11 digs, while sophomore
Grace Holdeman led the team with 18 digs.
In the second match of the day, Geneva cruised to victory over Franciscan. After Franciscan jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first set, not much else went well for the Barons. Geneva responded with a 9-2 run, and the set went back and forth until Geneva scored the final eight points to take the first set, 25-18.
The second and third sets went more smoothly for Geneva, with Geneva jumping out to early to leads and winning both sets comfortably.
Hoppel led the team with nine kills on the day. Hunsinger finished with 19 assists, senior
Allyssa Kerr led with 12 digs, with Head Coach
Wendy Smith able to spread the playing time around in the later sets.
"We had to dig deep in our Dig Pink match against La Roche to pull out the match win," Coach Smith said. "Our play was sloppy in sets two and three, so it was great to see the team focus and stay composed in sets four and five for the win.
Sydney McNulty came off the bench to hit nearly flawlessly in the final sets. In our Franciscan match, our tough serving and balanced offense were key."
Geneva will return home for a match against PAC rival Westminster on Wednesday, September 12, starting at 7:00 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.
