HIRAM, Ohio – The Geneva College men's volleyball team took part in the first varsity matches in school history on Friday, after a strong run as a club program, and the team did not disappoint.  The Golden Tornadoes defeated Adrian College in its first match of the day in five sets 16-25, 30-28, 25-23, 25-27, 15-9.  In the second match against Thomas More College, Geneva won in straight sets 25-19, 25-13, 25-20.  Geneva is now 2-0 on the season.  

In the first match against Adrian, Geneva struggled in the first set.  The Golden Tornadoes were winning 4-3 before Adrian scored eight straight points to take control of the set, and Geneva never recovered in losing 25-16.

The rest of the match proved much tighter.  Geneva jumped out to a big 11-4 lead in the second set, but Adrian stormed back to take a 21-18 lead.  The Golden Tornadoes came up with four straight points, though, and the set went back and forth from there, with Geneva fighting off four set points to take the set, 30-28, on a service ace by senior Spencer York (Beaver, Pa./Beaver County Christian).

The next two sets proved to be just as tight.  In the third set, with Geneva trailing 10-9, the Golden Tornadoes went on a 6-1 run to take a 15-11 lead.  Geneva still led, 20-15, later in the set, before Adrian rallied to get as close as 23-22.  However, sophomore Anthony Baronio (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) closed out the set with a kill, 25-23.

Adrian jumped out to a 10-6 lead in set four, but Geneva scored four straight points to tie the set, 10-10.  From there the neither team led by more than two points.  Tied at 25-25, Adrian scored the final two points to force a fifth set, 27-25.

Trailing 5-4 early in set five, Geneva took control with a 10-2 run, and the Golden Tornadoes closed out the set, and the match, 15-9 on a kill from junior Quinn McCracken (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian).

Baronio had a big match, leading the Golden Tornadoes with a triple-double, finishing with 27 assists, 23 kills, and 19 digs.  York, McCracken, and sophomore Dan Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) all added double-digit kills as well, while senior Matt Peters (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) also finished with 27 assists.

In the second match of the day, Geneva had an easier time with Thomas More, who was also participating in the first varsity match of its school's history.  The Golden Tornadoes jumped on the Saints early in set one, 10-3.  Thomas More would fight back to within 20-17, but a kill from York and an ace from freshman Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) helped Geneva close out the first set, 25-19.

Geneva ran away with the second set.  Behind the serving of McCracken and Peters, Geneva jumped ahead 19-4 on its way to a 25-13 win, finished off on a kill from Townsend.

The third set proved a little tighter for Geneva.  Thomas More got out to a 6-4 lead, but the Golden Tornadoes took the lead for good, 11-10, as Geneva scored four straight points behind the serving of Peters to go up 14-10.  Thomas More would never get closer than two points the rest of the way, and Geneva closed out the set, and the match, 25-20 on a kill from Baronio.

Baronio, McCracken, Townsend and York all finished the second match with five kills, while Baronio and Peters each finished with 13 assists.  Peters added six service aces.

"I think we came out with some nerves in that first set against Adrian, which is not that surprising," said Head Coach Curt Conser.  "But then we really settled down, and the second set was key, with several guys coming up clutch to win that long set.  And in the fifth set, we played great to close out the match.  The second match we were a lot cleaner, and I could see improvement just from the first match of the day to the second.  Anthony Baronio had a big day, but we got strong performances from all our starters.  We still have a lot of things to work on and get better at, but this was obviously a great way to start the season."

Geneva comes home for its first home match in school history on Wednesday when it hosts Division II Alderson Broaddus in Metheny Fieldhouse 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.