PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team traveled to Chicago, Illinois, to take part in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Invitational this weekend at Trinity Christian College, and the Golden Tornadoes opened the first day of the invitational with a split of two matches on Friday.  In the first match of the day, Geneva swept Greenville by a score of 25-14, 25-20, 25-16.  In the second match, Geneva fell to Judson in four sets 28-26, 15-25, 20-25, 19-25.   Geneva's record now stands at 3-3.

Geneva came into the tournament with the #3-seed and was placed into a pool of #2-seed Campbellsville, #6-seed Greenville and #7-seed Judson.  The Golden Tornadoes will finish up pool play Saturday morning with a match against Campbellsville, and each team will play a final match against the team that finishes the other pool in the same place in the standings. 

In the first match of the day against Greenville, Geneva took control of the first set early.  With the score tied 3-3, the Golden Tornadoes scored four straight points, with senior Quinn McCracken (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) picking up two kills.  After a point from Greenville, Geneva scored eight straight points, with junior Anthony Baronio (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) picking up four kills in the run.  That gave the Golden Tornadoes a 15-4 lead, and the set was never close again, with Geneva winning 25-14 on a kill from Baronio, who finished the first set with six kills.

It was Greenville who jumped on top early in the second set, taking a 6-3 lead.  After Geneva tied the set with three straight points, the Panthers strung together four straight point to take a 10-6 lead, their biggest of the set.  However, the Golden Tornadoes scored eight straight points a few moments later to take control of the set, with McCracken contributing back-to-back kills in the run, giving Geneva an 18-13 lead.  Greenville closed within two, 21-19, but the Golden Tornadoes closed out the set, 25-20, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Geneva's defense proved effective early in the third set, with Baronio, McCracken and freshman Byron Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) each picking up two blocks early on its way to a 10-6 lead.  From there the Golden Tornadoes slowly pulled away in the final set, and freshman Jake Williams (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) finished the match off with an ace, 25-16.

McCracken finished with nine kills on a .500 hitting percentage, while Baronio added nine kills and 10 assists.  Geneva had 13 total blocks in the match, with Spear leading the way with seven blocks.  Freshman Curtis Thomas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Christian Heritage), playing close to his hometown, added eight assists.  Geneva hit .191 in the match compared to a -.025 percentage from the Panthers.

Geneva followed that match with a contest against Judson, and despite the lower seeding, the Eagles proved much tougher competition.  The Golden Tornadoes fell down early 10-4 in the first set, and Geneva trailed the almost the whole set.  Geneva was still down by scores of 17-11 and 22-19, but the Golden Tornadoes responded with four straight points to take its first lead of the set, 23-22.  Geneva fought off one set point in the final moments before winning the set, 28-26, on a kill from Baronio and an ace from junior Dan Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian).

Despite the dramatic comeback in the first set, Geneva was unable to sustain its momentum going into the second set.  The Golden Tornadoes immediately fell behind 5-0, with Geneva struggling with its hitting.  Those struggles continued throughout the set, and the Golden Tornadoes, unlike the first set, never threatened the rest of the way as Judson pulled away for a 25-15 victory, evening the match at 1-1.

It was Geneva who took the early lead in the third set.  The Golden Tornadoes reeled off six straight points behind the serving of Townsend to take a 7-2 lead.  Geneva still led 13-9 after a kill from sophomore Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian), but Judson took over from there.  The Eagles went on a 9-1 run to take control of the set, 18-14, and Geneva never got closer than three points the rest of the way, losing 25-20.

The fourth set went back-and-forth early, with McCracken picking up two kills to help Geneva to an 8-7 lead.  Judson answered with a 5-1 run to go ahead 12-9, and the Golden Tornadoes never got closer than two points the rest of the set.  With Geneva trailing 19-16, Judson went on a 4-1 run to take a 23-17 lead, and the Eagles closed out the match from there, 25-19.

McCracken led the team with 13 kills, while Spear added five kills on a .455 hitting percentage.  Baronio contributed 19 assists, seven kills and six digs.  Townsend led the defense with 16 digs.  Geneva finished the match hitting just .064, with only four blocks by Judson contributing to Geneva's poor hitting percentage, compared to a .230 performance by the Eagles.

"It was a solid start to the day picking up the straight-set win over Greenville," said Head Coach Curt Conser.  "But we continue to beat ourselves with unforced errors.  I give credit to Judson, though, who was by far the best defensive team we've played so far this season, but we have to be better with our hitting to be successful."

Geneva finishes pool play tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. with a match against Campbellsville, a squad that swept Judson earlier in the day on Friday.  The Golden Tornadoes will then finish competition at the NCCAA Invitational with one final match that will be determined by their final standing in pool play.


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.