BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – If fans haven't taken notice yet of the newly formed Geneva College men's volleyball team, it is time they started paying attention.  On Friday night, the Golden Tornadoes made a statement that they are capable of winning the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) by defeating preseason favorite Wittenberg University 25-21, 22-25, 29-27, 25-16.  Geneva improved to 8-2, 2-0 in the AMCC, while Wittenberg fell to 5-5, 0-1 in the AMCC.

Geneva made it clear early on in front of a strong crowd that it was ready to compete with the best the AMCC had to offer.  The Golden Tornadoes jumped ahead 9-6, but Wittenberg responded with a 9-3 run to take its biggest lead of the set, 15-12.  However, Geneva answered right with four straight points, the last two coming on kills from senior Matt Peters (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area), to go up 16-15.  Tied at 18-18, Geneva went on a 5-1 run to take control of the set, 23-19.  Included in the run were an ace and a kill from junior Quinn McCracken (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) and two kills from freshman Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian).  Geneva finished off the set, 25-21.

Geneva carried that momentum into the second set and went ahead 11-5.  The Golden Tornadoes still led 14-10 after a kill from senior Spencer York (Beaver, Pa./Beaver County Christian) when Geneva had its first rough stretch of the match.  Wittenberg scored nine straight points to go up 19-14.  Despite the big deficit, Geneva closed to within 23-21, but it could not finish off the comeback and dropped the set, 25-22.

Wittenberg continued its strong play early in the third set, getting ahead 7-2.  The Tigers didn't let up and looked to be in full control of the set, leading 18-9, before Geneva turned things around.  Trailing 21-14, Geneva went on an 8-1 run, led by the serving of sophomore Dan Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) and three kills from York, to tie the set at 22-22.  Geneva then had to fight off three set points before finishing off the set on kills from Townsend and Barbato, 29-27.

Geneva used the energy from the comeback in set three and immediately took control of set four.  Geneva ran out to an 11-3 lead and never looked back.  Wittenberg never got closer than six points the rest of the set, and it was only fitting that McCracken, who had a huge night, finished off the victory with a kill off an assist from sophomore Anthony Baronio (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge), 25-16.  The Golden Tornadoes had an impressive .308 hitting percentage in the final set.

"Tonight was our most complete team effort of the season," said Head Coach Curt Conser.  "We got good contributions from all the starters and from a number of bench players.  Quinn had another monster match.  It was a really fun night in Metheny Fieldhouse.  There was a great atmosphere thanks to a good crowd, and we're really appreciative of the support they have given us so far this year."

McCracken outplayed Wittenberg's preseason AMCC Co-Player of the Year, senior Isaiah Brock, stating his claim as one of the top players in the conference.  McCracken led the Golden Tornadoes with 19 kills, on a .395 hitting percentage, with five blocks and two aces.  Barbato and York each had eight kills and four blocks.  Townsend finished with six kills and a team-high 17 digs.  Baronio led the offense again with 36 assists.

Geneva gets right back into action tomorrow with another home match, this one against Messiah College, at 2:00 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.