BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – In a match fitting for two teams that came in sporting long winning streaks, the Geneva College women's volleyball team battled with John Carroll for five sets before eventually succumbing, 3-2, on Wednesday night.  Despite winning the first two sets, the Golden Tornadoes couldn't finish the match off in losing 25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 22-25, 13-15.  John Carroll has now won eight straight matches to improve to 15-3, while Geneva's eight-match winning streak came to end with the Golden Tornadoes falling to 14-4.

Geneva jumped ahead early in set one after five straight points by the Golden Tornadoes, 9-6, behind the serving of senior Millicent Dofelmier (Mill Creek, Wash./Jackson).  Geneva extended its lead to 16-10 before John Carroll cut the lead to 18-16.  However, five more straight points, again behind the service of Dofelmier, regained control of the set for Geneva, and the Golden Tornadoes finished off the set, 25-21, on a kill by senior Kacey Costal (Salem, Ohio/Salem).

Things could not have started much worse for Geneva in the second set, as John Carroll stormed out to a 10-1 lead.  Despite the big deficit, Geneva slowly began to work its way back into the set, and after the Golden Tornadoes scored six straight points off the service of sophomore Elana Hoppel (Castorland, N.Y./Lowville Academy and Central), Geneva had closed to within 16-15.  Geneva took its first lead of the set, 21-20, on a kill from Hoppel, and the Golden Tornadoes held on for the win, 26-24, on a kill from junior Daphne Hunsinger (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock) to take a two-set lead.

Geneva carried that momentum into the third set and quickly jumped ahead, 6-1, with Hunsinger picking up two more kills in the stretch.  However, John Carroll quickly got back into the set, and after a 6-1 run, the Blue Streaks surged ahead 15-12.  That lead would eventually grow to 22-14, but Geneva tried to rally back, with the Golden Tornadoes scoring five straight points behind the serving of freshman Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian).  That run got the Golden Tornadoes to within 23-21, but Geneva could not complete the comeback, dropping the set 25-22.

The fourth set is the one Geneva will probably look back on in frustration where things got away from the Golden Tornadoes.  Geneva jumped ahead early, 6-2, with Costal picking up four kills early on, and eventually stretched its lead to 17-10 midway through the set.  However, Geneva unraveled while allowing a 12-2 run by John Carroll, and Geneva could never recover in losing the set, 25-22, sending the match to a fifth set.

Geneva scored the first point of the fifth set, but it would be the only lead the Golden Tornadoes would manage in the final set.  John Carroll scored the next three points, and the Blue Streaks eventually stretched their lead to 14-9, leaving them one point away from victory.  Geneva refused to give in, though, staving off four match points to get to within 14-13, but a Geneva attack error closed out the match, 15-13.

"This was one of those matches that we let get away from us," said Head Coach Wendy Smith.  "John Carroll is a very good team, and yet we put ourselves in position to win the match and couldn't finish, which is frustrating.  We started to press after losing the third set, and we made too many mistakes late in the final two sets.  These are the types of matches we have to figure out a way to win if we want to be a championship team, and hopefully tonight is something we can use a learning moment for the more important conference matches yet to come."

Costal was big all night for the Golden Tornadoes, finishing with 18 kills on a .295 hitting percentage.  Hunsinger picked up another triple-double, finishing with 41 assists, 12 kills and 10 digs.  Hoppel also reached double digits with 11 kills.  Sophomore Kayla Coughlin led the team with 26 digs.  Service errors were problematic for Geneva, as the Golden Tornadoes finished with 14 errors to just six aces, with several of those service errors coming at key moments late in sets.

Geneva will take a week off before jumping back into Presidents' Athletic Conference action with a home match against Bethany next Wednesday, 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 115 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 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.