SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Geneva College men's volleyball team saw its season come to an end in dramatic fashion on Friday night, losing to Thiel in five sets in the semifinals of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) tournament.  Geneva had numerous chances to pull out a win, including six match points, but the Golden Tornadoes failed to find that elusive last point, losing 21-25, 25-19, 11-25, 32-30, 16-14.  Geneva finishes its season with a 20-9 record, while Thiel goes on to play Wittenberg on Saturday for the AMCC Championship.

Geneva took control of the first set early on.  With the set tied at 5-5, the Golden Tornadoes went on a 9-2 run to take a 14-7 lead, with junior Quinn McCracken (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) picking up three kills and senior Spencer York (Beaver, Pa./Beaver County Christian) two kills in the stretch.  Thiel got within three points late, but Geneva finished off the set, 25-21.

Thiel went on an early run in the second set.  With the Tomcats leading 6-5, Thiel scored six straight points to take a 12-5 lead, and Geneva was never able to get within five points the rest of the set, losing 25-19.

Geneva cruised in the third set.  With the score tied at 4-4, Geneva scored five straight points, the last two coming on service aces from freshman Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian).  Thiel closed to within two, 9-7, but Geneva responded by closing out the set on a 16-4 run, winning after a kill by McCracken, 25-11.

The fourth set proved to be where the match turned.  The set went back-and-forth early on, but with the set tied at 14-14, Geneva scored five straight points to take a 19-14 lead, putting the Golden Tornadoes in position to close out the match.  Geneva still led 23-20 and 24-22, but the Golden Tornadoes could never obtain that elusive final point.  Geneva had six match points, including at 29-28, but Thiel scored the four of the final five points to win the set, 32-30.  The set was eerily similar to the fifth-set loss to Penn State Behrend on Saturday that saw Geneva squander four match points, a loss that ultimately prevented Geneva from hosting the AMCC tournament.

Unlike the Penn State Behrend match, though, the Golden Tornadoes had one more chance to win the match.  The final set proved to be a tight affair, with neither team leading by more than two points.  The set was tied twelve times, including 14-14, but once again Geneva failed to find a way to finish the set off, losing in heartbreaking fashion, 16-14.

York led the offense with 17 kills in the final match of his career.  Sophomore Dan Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) added 12 kills and a game-high 27 digs.  McCracken finished with 12 kills and 10 digs.   Senior Matt Peters (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) wrapped up his career with 19 digs, 8 kills and 5 assists.  Sophomore Anthony Baronio (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) led the team with 45 assists to go with 16 digs.

"I thought we played some of our best team volleyball at the end of the season, including today, and I'm thankful for that," said Head Coach Curt Conser.  "We worked hard all season on continual improvement, believing that if we did that, we would have a chance to compete for a conference championship.  Tonight we had that opportunity, but we failed to make the most of it.  We had our chances to advance, and the fact we failed to close things out is very disappointing to us all.  That said, I'm very proud of the way the team fought all season long."

While the loss will undoubtedly stick in the memories of the Golden Tornadoes in the upcoming offseason, Geneva put together a very successful first season of men's volleyball competition, finishing in a tie for the AMCC regular season title, and Coach Conser will have a strong group returning next season to build upon.


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.