BUFFALO, NY – The Geneva College men's volleyball team continued its strong play on Saturday, adding two more wins, both Allegheny Mountain College Conference (AMCC) matches, at D'Youville College.  The Golden Tornadoes defeated D'Youville, 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-17, 25-17), in their first match of the day.  They followed that up with a victory over Medaille by another score of 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17).  Geneva improved to 14-3 overall, 5-0 in the AMCC.

In the first match, Geneva went up 3-1 in the first set before D'Youville responded with a run to take a 9-6 lead.  After Geneva closed to within 10-9, the Spartans went on a 6-1 run to take a 16-10 lead, prompting Head Coach Curt Conser to call a timeout.  The Golden Tornadoes responded with four straight points, two on kills from senior Matt Peters (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area), to get back into the set, 16-14.  After a D'Youville point, Geneva scored four more points behind the serving of senior Spencer York (Beaver, Pa./Beaver County Christian), taking back the lead 18-17.  With Geneva leading 21-20, the Golden Tornadoes closed out the set on a 4-2 run to win 25-22, the last point coming on a D'Youville service error, which would become a theme for the Spartans the rest of the match.

In the second set, with the Golden Tornadoes leading 10-9, Geneva scored three straight points, two on back-to-back kills from York, to go up 13-9.  Geneva still led 19-15 later in the set before things unraveled for the Golden Tornadoes.  D'Youville scored five straight points on its way to a 10-3 run to close things out, taking the set, 25-22.

The third set was tight early, as neither team led by more than two points until Geneva used a 6-2 run to go up 16-11, with sophomore Dan Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) contributing two kills in the stretch.  From there the Spartans would never get closer than three points.  York, Peters, and junior Quinn McCracken (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) each had two kills down the stretch to help Geneva close out the set, 25-17, the last point coming on another D'Youville service error.

Geneva cruised in the fourth set.  After D'Youville closed to within 7-5 with three straight points, Geneva blew the set open with a 15-5 run to go ahead 22-10, as McCracken had two aces, a kill, and a block in the run.  The Golden Tornadoes closed things out from there, 25-17, with fittingly another D'Youville service error, their 16th of the match, the final point.

Peters continued his strong play, leading Geneva with 12 kills on an impressive .409 hitting percentage.  He also added ten digs, five assists and two blocks.  McCracken had a good match as well, adding 10 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, with nine digs and a team-high four blocks and two aces.  Townsend had a team-high 12 digs, while sophomore Anthony Baronio (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) led the offense with 30 assists.

In the second match of the day, Geneva jumped on Medaille early, 5-0, behind the serving of freshman Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian).  Geneva extended the lead to 18-10 and was in full control, but Medaille used a 6-1 run late in the set to close to within 22-20.  However, Geneva was able to hold on for the 25-22 victory to take the first set.

Geneva fell down early in the second set, as four straight points by the Mavericks put Medaille up 9-5.  The Golden Tornadoes used an 8-3 run midway through the set, though, to take the lead 22-19, with McCracken finishing off a couple of kills.  Despite the strong position, Geneva couldn't finish off the set.  Medaille scored six of the last seven points of the set to tie things up at 1-1, 25-23.

Medaille carried that momentum into the third set and went ahead 11-7.  Geneva battled back, though, behind three straight kills from Baronio to tie the set at 13-13.  The rest of the set remained tight from there.  Tied at 20-20, McCracken added two kills and Peters one as the Golden Tornadoes closed out the set, 25-23.

Medaille again went ahead early in set four, 7-4.  However, two more kills from McCracken and one from Baronio helped Geneva take back the lead, 11-10.  The Golden Tornadoes would never trail again.  After a point from Medaille, Geneva used a 7-2 run, the last point on another kill from Peters, to go up 18-13, and the Golden Tornadoes finished the set off on a block from McCracken to win 25-17.

McCracken had a big game in the second match, finishing with 18 kills on a tremendous .556 hitting percentage.  He also added a team-high five blocks to go with seven digs.  Baronio also played well, adding seven kills on a .429 hitting percentage to go with 27 assists and six digs.  Townsend added six kills and a team-high ten digs, while Peters added five kills, eights assists, seven digs and four blocks.  Geneva finished with a strong .269 hitting percentage in the match.

"It took us a little while to get going in both matches," said Conser.  "Fortunately, the same was true of D'Youville and Medaille.  Matt picked up where he left off Wednesday with a big match against D'Youville.  Quinn also had another big day, especially in the second match against Medaille."

The Golden Tornadoes have a challenging week ahead, playing a non-conference road match against #14 Juniata on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. before hosting AMCC opponents Penn State Behrend and Thiel next Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., respectively.   Penn State Behrend and Thiel are currently in second and third place in the conference standings, right behind Geneva.


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.