BLUFFTON, Ohio – Geneva College Head Women's Volleyball Coach Wendy Smith knew that this weekend would be a tough test for her undefeated Golden Tornado squad, as Geneva headed to Bluffton University for a tournament that would boast some of Geneva's toughest competition all season. Despite some solid moments, the Golden Tornadoes lost both of their matches on Friday night by 3-1 scores, dropping their record to 5-2 on the season.
In the first match of the day against nationally ranked #21 Ohio Northern, Geneva jumped ahead early by taking the first set, 25-21. However, Ohio Northern, a squad that had already faced three teams ranked in the top 15 of NCAA Division III, including a straight sets victory over #13 Illinois Wesleyan along with a five-set loss to #6 Wittenberg, regrouped and won the next three sets by scores of 25-14, 25-20, 25-20 to win the match, 3-1.
The second match of the day against Hanover followed a similar script with Geneva winning the first set 25-19 to jump out to an early lead. However, the Golden Tornadoes couldn't capitalize on their lead. The match turned over the next two sets, as Geneva lost back-to-back tight sets by scores of 25-23 and 33-31. The long third set, which eventually went Hanover's way, swung the momentum over to the Panthers, and Geneva couldn't recover in what proved to be the final fourth set, losing 25-18.
In the second match of the day, junior Daphne Hunsinger (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock) picked up her second triple-double of the season, finishing with 33 assists, 20 digs and 10 kills. Sophomore Elana Hoppel (Castorland, N.Y./Lowville Academy and Central) led the team with 11 kills, while senior Kacey Costal (Salem, Ohio/Salem) and freshman Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) each added nine kills. Sophomore Kayla Coughlin (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) had a team-high 29 digs, while senior Grace McCracken (Bloomington, Ind./Lighthouse Christian Academy) added 25 digs.
"I'm obviously not happy with the losses, but we came here to face some tough competition, and that's what we got," said Smith. "Ohio Northern is one of the top teams in Division III, and we played really well the first set, but just couldn't sustain it. Hanover is a strong team as well, but we had our chances in that match. If we finish sets two and three like we had the opportunity to, we could have had a sweep. We don't have much time to regroup, though, as we'll have two more tough matches tomorrow. Tournaments like this should only make us better as the season progresses."
Geneva's weekend finishes up tomorrow with two matches, starting with a contest against the host Bluffton at 10:00 a.m. The Golden Tornadoes complete the tournament with a match against Heidelberg at 12:00 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 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.
