BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – This young Geneva College women's volleyball team got a peek on Thursday night of the type of team the Golden Tornadoes hope to become in time.  Westminster came to town, and the Titans, who are in first place and undefeated in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), proved too strong for Geneva, though the Golden Tornadoes made them work.  Eventually Geneva just made too many errors to win, though, with Westminster sweeping the Golden Tornadoes 25-22, 25-16, 25-21.  Westminster improved to 22-4 overall, 14-0 in the PAC, while Geneva dropped to 10-14, 7-6 in the PAC.

Westminster arrived in Beaver Falls having won nine straight matches, with the Titans only dropping two sets over that stretch.  Westminster is led by a strong senior group that makes the fewest errors in the conference, and that proved to be the case on Thursday night against this young Geneva squad consisting mostly of freshmen and sophomores.

Westminster jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead in the first set, but kills by sophomore Savannah Byers (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) and freshmen Calyne Schmidt (Lacey, Wash./North Thurston) and Kami Mummau (Mount Joy, Pa./Mount Joy Christian), along with an ace from sophomore Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) gave Geneva a 5-4 lead. 

The first set stayed tight until Westminster scored three straight to take a 13-10 lead, but the Golden Tornadoes answered right back with back-to-back kills from Neville, and an ace by freshman Megan Veon (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk), to even the set back up.  A couple of minutes later, four straight points on kills from Mummau and Schmidt, along with an ace from junior Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian), gave the Golden Tornadoes a 20-16 lead and put Geneva in position to take the first set.  However, Westminster immediately responded with seven straight points to come from behind and eventually take the set, 25-22.

Westminster took an early 5-1 lead in the second set, but a couple minutes later kills by Veon and Mummau, along with an ace from freshman Lydia Wilson (New Springfield, Ohio/Heartland Christian), pulled the Golden Tornadoes within 8-7.  The Titans responded with five straight points, though, to take a 13-7 lead, and Geneva never got closer than three points the rest of the way, losing 25-16.

The third set mirrored the first set very closely.  The set was tight early, and then Geneva put together a 7-2 run that included two kills from Neville, a kill and an ace from Mummau, and a kill and a block from Veon, to give Geneva another four-point lead, 17-13.  However, just as happened in the first set, Westminster responded to its four-point deficit with seven straight points.  Geneva would respond by scoring three straight to pull level at 20-20, but Westminster finished out the match on a 5-1 run to take the final set, 25-21.

Neville again led the Golden Tornadoes with 14 kills, while Mummau added nine kills and Schmidt eight kills.  Errors were the difference in the match, though, as Geneva actually finished with more kills, 40-39, than Westminster.  However, Geneva had 20 hitting errors and six service errors, while Westminster finished with 10 hitting errors and zero service errors.  First team All-PAC Titan seniors Becky Adelman and Maya Steward finished with 22 kills and just two errors to lead Westminster to the victory.

Townsend finished with a team-high 19 digs.  Peachey finished with a team-high 18 assists, while Wilson added 15 assists.  Geneva finished with a .153 hitting percentage, compared to Westminster's .234 hitting percentage.

"We saw glimpses of what we can become tonight," said Head Coach Wendy Smith, "but we have to limit our errors, which has been a struggle all year for us.  I know we're a young team, but we need to be able to accelerate that maturation process to take the next step.  Sometimes it's not always about getting the big kill, but more about taking the simple play and not making the error.  It was frustrating to put ourselves in positions to win sets but to make too many errors at key times, and hopefully this is one more step in the learning process.  Westminster is really talented, and they are really sound, and you can't make as many errors as we did tonight and expect to beat them."

Geneva continues its rigorous stretch to close out the season with its fourth match in six days when it hosts Washington & Jefferson on Saturday at 1:00 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 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).