HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team got a taste of some of the best volleyball in NCAA Division III when the Golden Tornadoes traveled to #14 Juniata College on Tuesday night. Geneva hung with the nationally ranked Eagles for a set, but Juniata eventually overpowered the Golden Tornadoes on its way to a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-13, 25-16). Juniata improved to 10-2, while Geneva had its four-match winning streak snapped, dropping to 14-4.
Juniata scored the first four points of the match, but Geneva answered back with three straight points to close the deficit to 4-3. The Golden Tornadoes used a 4-1 run midway through the set to take their first lead of the set, 14-13, as junior Quinn McCracken (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) had three kills in the early part of the set. Juniata responded with an 8-1 run to take a big 21-15 lead, but Geneva answered again, this time with five straight points to get within 21-20. However, the Golden Tornadoes couldn't complete the comeback and Juniata won the first set, 25-23.
Geneva scored three straight points in early in set two to take a 3-1 lead on a kill from senior Spencer York (Beaver, Pa./Beaver County Christian). Geneva still led 7-6, after another kill from McCracken, when Juniata went on a 13-3 run to go up 19-10, and the Eagles coasted from there to win the second set, 25-13.
Juniata took control again midway through the third set. After another kill from McCracken closed Geneva within 9-7, the Eagles methodically built their advantage over the next several minutes, going up 20-12. Geneva never threatened again as Juniata closed things out, 25-16.
"Juniata was definitely the most complete volleyball team we have played this year," said Head Coach Curt Conser. "From serving to setting to defense to hitting, they outplayed us in every aspect of volleyball. We competed well in the first set, but they raised their level of play, and we didn't respond. Quinn was really good tonight, but we really didn't have a lot of other positives."
McCracken was the lone bright spot for the Golden Tornadoes, finishing with 11 kills on a .364 hitting percentage. The rest of the team hit -0.072 in the match, and combined with ten service errors, not much went right for Geneva. Sophomore Anthony Baronio (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) had a team-high 14 assists and six digs. Juniata finished with an impressive .342 hitting percentage, including finishing the third set at .480.
Geneva will return to Metheny Fieldhouse on Saturday for two important Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference matches, playing Penn State Behrend at 10:00 a.m. and Thiel 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 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.
