PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team had to dig deep on Saturday in the fifth-place match at the National Christian College Athletic Associate (NCCAA) Invitational, pulling out a five-set victory over the hosts, Trinity Christian, 25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 21-25, 15-10.  Earlier in the day, Geneva lost in straight sets to Campbellsville 17-25, 17-25, 15-25, and the Golden Tornadoes will head home splitting its four matches over the weekend while holding a 4-4 overall record on the young season.

Geneva came into Saturday after splitting its opening two pool play matches on Friday against Greenville and Judson.  That left the Golden Tornadoes with a final pool play match against the #2-seed Campbellsville, with a victory in that match still enabling Geneva a chance to finish at the top of its pool, which would have sent the Golden Tornadoes into the championship match later in the afternoon.  However, they would have to beat a Campbellsville squad that swept Judson yesterday in the first match of the day, a Judson team that had defeated Geneva in the evening match last night.

Unfortunately, the match went about as expected based upon yesterday's results.  Geneva scored the first two points of the first set, and the Golden Tornadoes stayed with the Tigers early on, with the score tied 10-10.  Campbellsville followed with a 6-1 run to go ahead 16-11, though, and Geneva never got closer than three points the rest of the set, falling 25-17.

Freshman Jake Williams (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) opened the second set with a kill, but Campbellsville responded with five straight points.  Geneva pulled within 8-7, but seven straight points by the Tigers put Campbellsville in control.  The Tigers pulled away from there, finishing off the second set by an identical 25-17 score.

Geneva jumped ahead in the third set, 4-1, with senior Quinn McCracken (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls) contributing an ace and a kill on back-to-back points.  However, a 7-1 run by Campbellsville regained the lead for the Tigers, 8-5.  Campbellsville put the set, and the match, away over the next several minutes, putting together a 13-3 run to take control of the set, and the Tigers finished off the sweep with a 25-15 victory.

The Golden Tornadoes never found a way to control the potent Campbellsville attack, with the Tigers finishing with a .485 hitting percentage, the top mark of anyone Geneva has played since the beginning of last season.  McCracken and junior Anthony Baronio (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) led Geneva with five kills apiece, with Geneva finishing with a .102 hitting percentage.  Freshman Adam Chandoul (Gahanna, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) led the team with eight assists, while junior Dan Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) had a team-high four digs.  Geneva managed just two blocks in the match.

The loss dropped Geneva into third place in its pool, pushing the Golden Tornadoes into the fifth-place match and an afternoon contest with the hosts, Trinity Christian. 

Trinity Christian opened the first set with an early 5-2 lead, and the Trolls stretched that lead to 12-8 midway through the set.  Geneva didn't take its first lead until the Golden Tornadoes scored six straight points, with Townsend coming up with back-to-back kills and Baronio adding back-to-back aces in the stretch, giving Geneva an 18-15 lead.  After a point by Trinity Christian, Geneva scored four straight points, with Townsend picking up another kill, and the Golden Tornadoes closed out the set, 25-20.

Trinity Christian opened the second set with an early lead as well, scoring four straight points to go ahead 9-5.  A timeout by Geneva enabled the Golden Tornadoes to regroup, and they answered with six straight points to regain the lead, 11-9.  Geneva wouldn't trail again, though the Trolls did close to within 19-18 late.  However, the Golden Tornadoes held on at the end, with a kill by Barbato giving Geneva a 25-21 victory.

The third set stayed tight early, with neither team leading by more than a point until Trinity Christian reeled off four straight points to take a 13-10 lead.  The Trolls still led 22-18 when Geneva tied the score with four straight points, the last coming on a kill by freshman Byron Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills), but Trinity Christian took the set with the final three points, 25-22.

Geneva took an early 3-1 lead in set four, but Trinity Christian answered with a 7-2 run to take an 8-5 lead, and the Golden Tornadoes could never regain the lead.  Geneva did close to within 18-17 on a kill by Spear, but that was as close as the Golden Tornadoes would get.  Trinity Christian pulled away for a 25-21 win to even the match and send the teams to a final fifth set.

Things didn't start well for the Golden Tornadoes, with Trinity Christian taking an 8-5 lead halfway through the fifth set.  Just as it appeared Geneva might have to make the long trip home on the heels of two losses on Saturday, including the final match where the Golden Tornadoes won the first two sets, Geneva regrouped.  The Golden Tornadoes tied things up with three straight points, and then back-to-back kills by Barbato gave Geneva an 11-9 lead, its first lead of the set.  The Golden Tornadoes added two more points to extend their lead to 13-9, and after a point by Trinity Christian, Geneva closed out the match with a kill by Barbato and a kill by Townsend, 15-10.  In total, the Golden Tornadoes finished the final set on a 10-2 run.

McCracken, who was named to the All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the weekend, led a balanced attack in the match, finishing with 15 kills on a .323 hitting percentage.  He also added 13 digs and four blocks.  Townsend added eight kills and 11 digs, Williams and Barbato each had seven kills, with Williams adding 12 digs, and Baronio finished with six kills, 18 assists and a team-high 14 digs.  Freshman Curtis Thomas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Christian Heritage Academy) also contributed 11 assists.  Trinity Christian outhit Geneva, finishing with 59 kills on a .170 hitting percentage compared to 46 kills on a .160 hitting percentage for the Golden Tornadoes, but the Trolls committed 21 service errors compared to just nine for Geneva.

"It was nice to pull out the win against Trinity Christian," said Head Coach Curt Conser.  "That makes the long trip home a little better.  Credit our guys for making the plays we needed to late in that match.  In the first match today, Campbellsville is just playing at a whole other level right now than anybody else we've seen so far this year.  They are undefeated for a reason, and they've beaten some very good teams this year.

"As far as the tournament, it was a good experience to play against some pretty good teams.  I think we're all a little disappointed we didn't play better than we did.  Our hitting, in particular, continues to be inconsistent for us so far this year.  We are just making too many mistakes, and we have to clean that up to have a successful year.  This weekend wasn't probably what we were hoping for, but it was important to salvage the last match of the tournament and come home with at least two wins."

Geneva will get back into action on Wednesday when the Golden Tornadoes travel to first-year program Saint Vincent for a 7:00 p.m. start.  Geneva will be back at home next Saturday for a tri-match with Randolph-Macon and Elmira starting at 3:00 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.