WAYNESBURG, Pa. – It wasn't easy, but the Geneva College women's volleyball team prevailed in a five-set match at Waynesburg on Tuesday night, defeating the Yellow Jackets 23-25, 25-14, 25-15, 22-25, 15-11.  The Golden Tornadoes have now won four straight matches while improving to 8-11 overall, 5-3 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).  Waynesburg fell to 9-13, 3-9.

Geneva came into the match in a less than ideal situation, having been unable to play for the past ten days and unable to practice together as a team for much of that time due to COVID protocols.  The Golden Tornadoes were also without a key starter in the match.  On top of that, the women were also riding a 32-match winning streak against Waynesburg, having not lost to the Yellow Jackets since 1989.

Geneva put itself in good position early in the first set, scoring six straight points behind the serving of junior Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) to take a 7-3 lead.  Freshman Calyne Schmidt (Lacey, Wash./North Thurston) had back-to-back kills, while Townsend added an ace.  However, Waynesburg responded with five straight points to retake the lead, and the set bounced back and forth the rest of the way.  The Yellow Jackets scored four straight points to take an 18-14 lead at one point, but Geneva responded with a 5-1 run to even the set at 19-19.  Townsend added an ace, while Schmidt and freshman Kami Mummau (Mount Joy, Pa./Mount Calvary Christian) each added kills in the run.  With the set tied 23-23, though, Waynesburg scored the last two points to win 25-23.

Geneva trailed 7-5 early in the second set before four straight points, with sophomores Tess Neville (Lisbon, Ohio/Crestview) and Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) each contributing kills.  After a Yellow Jacket point pulled Waynesburg within 9-8, the Golden Tornadoes reeled off seven straight points, with Neville contributing three kills and Schmidt two kills in the run.  Geneva easily closed out the set from there, the last point coming on a kill by Neville, 25-14.

The Golden Tornadoes scored the first three points of the third set on attack errors by Waynesburg, and that run extended to 9-3 after a block by Peachey and sophomore Savannah Byers (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley).  The Yellow Jackets would pull to within 17-13, but six straight points behind the serving of freshman Lydia Wilson (New Springfield, Ohio/Heartland Christian) gave Geneva control of the set.  Wilson had an ace in the run, while Schmidt, Mummau and Byers each added kills, and the Golden Tornadoes easily finished off the set, 25-15.

Geneva led early in the fourth set, 6-5, on a kill by Wilson before Waynesburg scored five straight points to take a 10-6 lead.  The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 16-10 before five straight points by Geneva, with Schmidt contributing a kill and a block in the run, pulled the Golden Tornadoes within 16-15.  A moment later, four straight Geneva points, including back-to-back kills from Mummau, gave the Golden Tornadoes a 20-18 lead.  Geneva couldn't close it out, though, with Waynesburg finishing the set on a 7-2 run to send the match to a fifth set, 25-22.

The fifth set was tied early, 5-5, before back-to-back kills from Byers and Wilson gave Geneva a lead it would eventually never give up.  The Yellow Jackets kept it close, though, with three straight Waynesburg points later in the set pulling the Yellow Jackets to within 12-11.  But back-to-back kills from Mummau, followed by a Waynesburg attack error, closed out the set and the match, 15-11.

Geneva got contributions from up and down the roster, led by a career-high 14 kills from Mummau and 13 kills from Neville.  Schmidt added nine kills.  Peachey led the team with 24 assists, while Townsend had a team-high 26 digs.  Peachey added 16 digs, freshman Haley Barkovich (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) a career-high 15 digs, with Wilson finishing with 13 digs, 12 assists and five kills.  As a team Geneva hit .190, while holding Waynesburg to .119.

"I'm really proud of our effort tonight," said Head Coach Wendy Smith.  "It's been a tough last ten days, without much practice time, so to come on the road against an improved Waynesburg squad and find a way to win at the end, that's an encouraging sign.  There were definitely times we didn't play well, but that's probably a little to be expected considering we haven't been able to play much recently.  That said, it's one more step in the process of getting us to where we want to be at the end of the year."

The women have a busy stretch coming up as they try to make up some of the postponed matches from the past two weeks, starting with a road trip to Thiel on Thursday beginning at 7:00 p.m.  The match tonight was the first of 11 matches over the final 19 days of the regular season.

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 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva has one of the top 100 undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. 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. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and IACE (International Association for Christian Education).