GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Geneva College women's volleyball team finished off a perfect first day at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Tournament on Wednesday at Bob Jones University in dramatic fashion.  The #3-seed Golden Tornadoes cruised in their first match of the day in a sweep (25-13, 28-26, 25-16) against the #6-seed Toccoa Falls, but Geneva had to battle back in the second match of the day against #7-seed Randall to win in five sets (23-25, 26-28, 25-14, 25-14, 20-18) in a finish that came down to the wire.  Geneva's record now stands at 26-9.

In the first match of the day against Toccoa Falls, Geneva used a four-point run early in the first set to take a 6-3 lead, and the Golden Tornadoes cruised from there.  After Toccoa Falls scored a point, the Golden Tornadoes went on an 8-1 run to take a 14-4 lead, with senior Kacey Costal (Salem, Ohio/Salem) contributing two kills.  Geneva put the set away with six straight points behind the serving of senior Grace McCracken (Bloomington, Ind./Lighthouse Christian Academy) to take a 20-7 lead, and the Golden Tornadoes closed out the set, 25-13, on a kill by freshman Hope Shook (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood Antis).
 
The second set was much tighter.  Toccoa Falls jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but Geneva responded with six straight points behind the serving of sophomore Hailee McDonough (Diamond, Ohio/Southeast), who had two aces.  The set went back and forth the rest of the way, with neither team leading by more than two points.  Geneva had two match points at 24-22, but three straight points by the Eagles gave them the advantage, and the Golden Tornadoes had to fight off two set points at the end before finishing off the set, 28-26, on an ace from junior Daphne Hunsinger (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock).
 
Toccoa Falls scored the first three points of the third set before Geneva used four straight points to take a 4-3 lead.  The Eagles answered back with a run to take a 10-8 lead, but it was all Geneva from there.  The Golden Tornadoes scored seven straight points off the service of sophomore Kayla Coughlin (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick), who had two aces in the run, and after a point by Toccoa Falls, Geneva scored five more points to take a 20-11 lead, with Costal and senior Millicent Dofelmier (Mill Creek, Wash./Jackson) picking up two kills apiece.  Freshman Olivia Moore (North Canton, Ohio/Lake Center Christian) finished off the sweep, 25-16, with a kill.
 
Hunsinger led the offense with 21 assists and 10 kills on a .364 hitting percentage.  Shook added nine kills while Costal finished with eight kills.  Coughlin had a team-high 12 digs, and she also had three of Geneva's ten aces in the match.
 
Geneva took the court in the second match of the day against Randall, a team that had just come off an upset over #2-seed Maranatha Baptist in four sets, and the Saints proved to be a team better than their seeding might have indicated.  The Golden Tornadoes jumped ahead 6-2 in the first set, but Randall scored seven straight points to take a 9-6 lead.  Geneva closed to within 13-12, but a 7-1 run by the Saints put them in control of the set, 20-13.  The Golden Tornadoes didn't fold, but ultimately their comeback fell short, 25-23.
 
The second set followed a similar script early.  Geneva took another four-point lead, 7-3, but six straight points by Randall gave the Saints a 9-7 lead.  The set was tight the rest of the way, with neither team leading by more than two points.  Down 23-21, the Golden Tornadoes scored three straight points to get to set point, 24-23, but Geneva couldn't finish things off, eventually falling 28-26 to put itself in a big hole.
 
The Golden Tornadoes were not discouraged by the deficit, though.  Geneva responded with its best volleyball of the day.  Four early kills by Shook helped give the Golden Tornadoes an 11-5 lead.  A minute later, five straight points behind the serving of freshman Natalie Parra (Hurricane, W.Va./Homeschool) pushed the lead to 16-7, and Geneva closed out the set on a kill from Shook, 25-14.
 
The fourth set stayed fairly close early, with a Geneva holding a 9-7 lead.  The Golden Tornadoes put the set away, though, with a 9-3 run to go up 18-10, and Geneva easily finished things out by another 25-14 score on a kill by Dofelmier.
 
Geneva carried that momentum into the fifth set and put itself in great position with five straight points behind the serving of Coughlin and two kills by Shook to go ahead 6-1.  However, Randall answered right back with its own 6-1 run to tie the set at 7-7, and things stayed tight from there.  With the score tied at 11-11, the points went back and forth, with Geneva scoring once, and Randall answering.  In the process Geneva had four match points but couldn't close the match out.  The Saints then scored twice to take an 18-17 lead to give them their first match point, but Costal came up big when it mattered most with three straight kills to give Geneva the dramatic 20-18 win.
 
Shook finished with 23 kills, while Costal added 20 kills, both career highs for the two hitters.  Moore added 10 kills.  Hunsinger finished with 49 assists, 20 digs and 8 kills.  Coughlin had a team-high 23 digs, while freshman Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) added 17 digs.
 
"I really couldn't be prouder of our effort today," said Head Coach Wendy Smith.  "We lost two five-set matches last year at this tournament, and after falling down two sets to Randall, we just dug in and wouldn't quit.  We showed so much heart in that second match, and hopefully that's something we can build off heading into tomorrow."
 
In most situations, two wins in pool play would clinch a spot in the playoffs for Geneva, but with Randall's upset of Maranatha Baptist earlier in the day, the Golden Tornadoes have more work to do tomorrow.  Geneva finishes its pool play competition with a 10:00 a.m. match tomorrow against Maranatha Baptist.  If Randall defeats Toccoa Falls in the other match of the morning, Geneva really needs to defeat Maranatha Baptist to avoid a three-way tiebreaker, which could leave the Golden Tornadoes in jeopardy of not advancing.


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.