SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Geneva College men's volleyball returned to action on Saturday afternoon after more than a two-week layoff, and the Golden Tornadoes split a pair of matches at Wittenberg University.  In the first match of the day, Geneva beat Hiram 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-17).  In the second match, Wittenberg defeated Geneva 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-23).  Geneva's record is now 16-7, 7-2 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC).

Geneva jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the first set against Hiram, but the Terriers responded with five straight points to take a 7-6 lead.  Geneva answered back with a 6-1 run behind a kill and two aces from senior Matt Peters (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area), going ahead 12-8.  The Golden Tornadoes led by as many as seven, 20-13, before holding off a late Hiram charge, with junior Quinn McCracken (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) finishing off the set with a kill, 25-21.

Hiram started the second set with four straight points before Geneva put together a 6-1 run to take back the lead, 6-5.  The Terriers battled back to take a 17-15 lead midway through the set, but the Golden Tornadoes went on an 8-2 run to go up 23-19, and Geneva finished off the set, 25-22, on a kill from sophomore Dan Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian).

The Terriers took another early lead in set three, going ahead 10-6.  Geneva responded with a 12-3 run, helped by two aces from Townsend and two kills from freshman Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) to go ahead 18-13.  The Golden Tornadoes finished things off from there, the final point of the match coming on an ace from McCracken, 25-17.

Barbato had a team-high eight kill on a .462 hitting percentage.  Townsend and McCracken each had seven kills, while sophomore Anthony Baronio (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) finished with 19 assists, 11 digs, and five kills.

The Golden Tornadoes had a much tougher time in the second match against Wittenberg.  With the Tigers leading 12-11 in the first set, Wittenberg scored eight straight points on its way to an easy 25-14 set win.

Geneva went ahead early 10-4 in the second set, with senior Spencer York (Beaver, Pa./Beaver County Christian) contributing three kills and an ace, but the Golden Tornadoes could not close out the set.  With Geneva leading 21-18, Wittenberg scored six straight points to come back and win the set, 25-22.

The third set was close early, with Wittenberg holding an 8-7 lead.  The Tigers went on a 6-2 run, though, to take a 14-9 lead.  Geneva would fight back to within 22-21, but Wittenberg was able to hold on for a 25-23 win to sweep the match.

York led the way in the second match, finishing with a season-high 12 kills on a .393 hitting percentage.  McCracken added 11 digs and five kills, while Baronio finished with 18 assists.

"We played fairly well overall today in five of the six sets," said Head Coach Curt Conser.  "Wittenberg played well against us, and with us not executing in a couple areas and a few things not going our way, we were not able to extend the second match beyond three sets."

Geneva heads to Hiram next Saturday to continue AMCC play.  The Golden Tornadoes will play D'Youville at 12:00 p.m. and Medaille 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.