BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's volleyball team kept its perfect record to start the season intact when it defeated Allegheny College on Wednesday night, 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-15, 26-24).  The match was originally scheduled to be played at Allegheny but was moved to Geneva at the last moment due to a facility issue at Allegheny.  Geneva's record now stands at 5-0, while Allegheny fell to 2-3.

The first set was tight early, but Allegheny scored five straight points midway through the set to take a 16-10 lead.  Geneva battled back, though, with a 9-2 run to take the back the lead, 21-20, but the Golden Tornadoes could not hold on and dropped the first set, 25-22.

The second set proved to be a tight affair as well, as neither team led by more than three points, with the set going back and forth until, with the score tied 22-22, Geneva scored three of the last four points, the last coming on a kill from junior Daphne Hunsinger (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock) to win the set, 25-23, to even the match at 1-1.

Geneva carried that momentum into the third set and jumped ahead early, 11-4.  However, Allegheny battled back again, pulling to within one, 15-14, before Geneva used a 7-0 run, led by sophomore Kayla Coughlin's (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) three aces, to go up 22-14.  Geneva finished off the set from there, 25-15, to take a 2-1 lead.

The Golden Tornadoes once again jumped ahead in set four, going up 11-4 as senior Kacey Costal (Salem, Ohio/Salem) had three kills early in the set.  Allegheny battled back, though, eventually tying the score four times over the remainder of the set, the last time coming at 24-24, but Geneva scored the final two points to win the set, and the match, 26-24.

"We had moments tonight where we played fairly well," said Head Coach Wendy Smith, "but to be honest, I felt like we had some really sloppy stretches where we just didn't play particularly well.  I think we've showed already this year that we can be a pretty good team, but we've got to improve on our consistency to get to where we want to be.  This was one of those matches that we're glad to have won, but I know there is still lots to improve upon."

Costal continued her strong play to begin the season, leading the team with 12 kills on a .290 hitting percentage.  Hunsinger just missed another triple-double with 26 assists, 13 digs and 8 kills.  Sophomore Elana Hoppel (Castorland, N.Y./Lowville Academy and Central) added eight kills, while freshman Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) finished with seven kills and eleven digs.  Coughlin had a team-high 15 digs while also adding six aces.

Geneva heads to Bluffton University for two matches each on Friday and Saturday in the Sommer Center Spiketacular.  The Golden Tornadoes open with a match against Ohio Northern at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.


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 115 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 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.