BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team got to play in front of its home crowd on Wednesday night for the first time in school history, and despite hosting NCAA Division II Alderson Broaddus, the Golden Tornadoes swept the Battlers 25-20, 25-17, 25-22.  Geneva stayed undefeated and improved to 3-0, while Alderson Broaddus fell to 0-5.

The first set went back-and-forth until Geneva scored four straight points behind the service of junior Quinn McCracken (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) to take a 13-10 lead.  From there the Golden Tornadoes never let Alderson Broaddus get closer than two points, stretching the lead to 23-17 before taking the set, 25-20, in front of the large home crowd.

Geneva jumped ahead early in set two, scoring four straight points with senior Matt Peters (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) serving to go up 7-4.  Another four point run for Geneva later in the set on the service of senior Spencer York (Beaver, Pa./Beaver County Christian) pushed Geneva's lead to 17-9, and the Golden Tornadoes closed out the set 25-17 on a service ace from freshman Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian).

The third set proved to be tighter.  No team led by more than three points, and after two straight points from Alderson Broaddus, the set was tied at 22-22.  But Geneva scored the final three points to close out the match, the final point coming on another service ace, this one from sophomore Anthony Baronio (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge), to finish off the sweep, 25-22.

"It was exciting to be at home for the first time in front of a big crowd," said Head Coach Curt Conser.  "There was a lot of work over the past year leading up to this point, so it was good to see us come away with the sweep.  There are still a number of areas we need to improve on, though, to get us to the level I think we can play at.  But this was a fun first night for our fans and program to enjoy."

Baronio led the offense with 13 kills and 17 assists.  McCracken added seven kills and six digs, while Peters and sophomore Dan Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) each finished with six kills.  Peters added 13 assists as well.

Geneva travels to Suny Poly in Utica, New York, for a tournament on Friday and Saturday of this week.  The Golden Tornadoes play Pratt Institute and Suny Poly on Friday, and then play Elms and Wells on Saturday.  Geneva's next home match is February 8 against the preseason conference favorite Wittenberg University.


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.