BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – For the first time since 2014, the Geneva College women's volleyball team is back in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship after an impressive sweep (28-26, 25-20, 25-17) against visiting Grove City on Thursday night in the PAC Semifinals in front of a big and loud Geneva crowd.  Awaiting Geneva in the championship match on Saturday will be top-seed Westminster.  With the victory, Geneva improved to 22-8, while Grove City fell to 19-10.

Grove City was the better team early on in the first set.  The Wolverines scored the first three points of the match, and they led for much of the set.  Geneva managed to tie the score up twice as the set progressed, but the Golden Tornadoes didn't take their first lead until 19-18, with set staying tight the rest of the way.  Geneva had set point at 24-23, but two points by Grove City gave the Wolverines their first set point.  Back-to-back kills from seniors Kacey Costal (Salem, Ohio/Salem) and Millicent Dofelmier (Mill Creek, Wash./Jackson) regained the lead for Geneva, and after a Grove City point tied the score at 26-26, Geneva closed out the exciting first set with two straight points to win, 28-26.

Geneva used back-to-back points on a kill from junior Daphne Hunsinger (Harleyvsille, Pa./Christopher Dock) and an ace from senior Grace McCracken (Bloomington, Ind./Lighthouse Christian Academy) to take a 5-2 lead early in the second set.  Four straight points later in the set off the serving of Dofelmier extended Geneva's lead to 11-5.  A quick run by Grove City closed the score to 12-10, but Geneva put the set away with an 8-1 run, including six straight points behind the serving of McCracken, to take a commanding 20-11 lead.  Dofelmier closed out the set with a kill, 25-20.

Geneva got ahead quickly in the third set as well, going ahead 7-4 on back-to-back kills by freshmen Olivia Moore (North Canton, Ohio/Lake Center Christian) and Kimee Kuzma (Baden, Pa./Ambridge).  Grove City would get to within 15-13, but four straight points behind the serving of freshman Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian), followed quickly by four more points off the serve of freshman Hope Shook (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood-Antis), put Geneva in full control, 23-14.  Dofelmier finished off the match with a kill, 25-17.

"I thought we played pretty well tonight," said Head Coach Wendy Smith.  "Other than our serving at times, I thought we were really engaged.  We got contributions from just about everyone tonight, which is really encouraging.  I thought Millie, in particular, played one of her best matches all season.  Now we head to Westminster with a chance to win a championship, which is what we've been working towards all year."

Dofelmier led a very balanced effort with ten kills.  Hunsinger nearly missed another triple-double, finishing with 31 assists, 12 digs and nine kills.  Costal and Shook each finished with seven kills.  Five players finished with double-digit digs, led by sophomore Kayla Coughlin's (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) 20 digs.  McCracken added 16 digs.

Westminster defeated Saint Vincent in the other PAC semifinal on Thursday night, so Geneva will head back to Westminster a week after sweeping the Titans last Saturday.  The match is scheduled to start at 4:00 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.