GREENVILLE, S.C. – It was not the start to the day the Geneva College Women's Volleyball team anticipated after winning both pool play matches yesterday at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Tournament.  The #3-seed Golden Tornadoes faced #2-seed Maranatha Baptist in their final pool play match on Thursday morning and were swept away by the Sabercats (26-24, 25-15, 25-20), only the second time all season Geneva has been swept.  The victory clinched the top spot in the pool for Maranatha Baptist, while Geneva and #7-seed Randall will play a one-set play-in match, with the winner advancing to the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. later today.

Maranatha Baptist, despite coming into the tournament as the pool's top seed, was coming off a day in which it lost to Randall in four sets, a team Geneva defeated yesterday, and took four sets to defeat Toccoa Falls, a team Geneva swept.  However, the Golden Tornadoes had no answers for the Sabercats on Thursday.

Geneva took an early lead in set one, 7-5, with freshman Hope Shook (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) picking up three early kills.  However, the Sabercats answered with 10-4 run to take at 15-11 lead, its biggest of the set.  The Golden Tornadoes slowly chipped away at the lead, and a kill by senior Kacey Costal (Salem, Ohio/Salem) regained the lead for Geneva, 22-21.  Maranatha Baptist finished the set with a 5-2 run, however, and won the set 26-24.

Geneva jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the second set, with Shook picking up two more kills in the run.  The Golden Tornadoes still led 7-4 before Maranatha Baptist went on a 7-2 run to take an 11-9 lead.  The Sabercats took command of the set when they scored seven straight points to take a 20-11 lead, and Maranatha Baptist easily finished out the set, 25-15.

Following a similar pattern, the Golden Tornadoes went ahead early in the third set, taking a 9-6 lead on a kill by junior Daphne Hunsinger (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock).  Maranatha Baptist tied the set at 13-13, and things stayed close for the next several points.  However, after a kill from Shook cut the Sabercat lead to 20-19, Maranatha Baptist scored four straight points to stretch its lead to 24-19, and the Sabercats finished off the match, 25-20.

Shook again led the Golden Tornadoes will 12 kills on a .333 hitting percentage.  Costal added nine kills.  Hunsinger finished with 29 assists, seven digs and seven kills.  Sophomore Kayla Coughlin (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) had a team-high 15 digs, while freshman Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) added 12 digs.

Despite the disappointing performance, Geneva can still advance to the semifinals if it can defeat Randall in a one-set play-in match to 25 points, which is tentatively scheduled for 2:00 p.m., or roughly 45 minutes after the completion of the Bob Jones vs Johnson pool play match at 12:00 p.m.  The winner advances to the 5:30 p.m. semifinal, likely against the top seed, Bob Jones.  The loser's season is over.


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.