BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's volleyball team took care of business on Saturday afternoon, defeating W&J inside Metheny Fieldhouse in straight sets 25-22, 25-19, 25-17.  Geneva improved to 11-14 overall, 8-6 in the Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC).  W&J dropped to 3-19, 3-12 in the PAC.

The first set did not start well, with Geneva struggling with errors.  W&J opened with a 5-1 lead, eventually stretching the lead to 13-5 after the Presidents scored six straight points.  A kill by freshman Kami Mummau (Mount Joy, Pa./Mount Calvary Christian) began to turn things around.  Geneva scored four straight, and a moment later two kills by sophomore Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) and a kill by sophomore Tess Neville (Lisbon, Ohio/Crestview) pulled Geneva within 15-12.  W&J would respond with three straight points to go back ahead by six, but the Golden Tornadoes answered with an 8-1 run, including six straight points, to take their first lead of the set, 20-19.  Mummau had three kills in the stretch.  Geneva then finished off the comeback, 25-22, on a kill by freshman Megan Veon (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk).

The second set started similarly to the first set, with three Golden Tornado errors helping W&J to a 4-1 lead.  The Presidents would eventually stretch their lead to 9-5 before five straight Geneva points, including two kills from Neville, gave the Golden Tornadoes their first lead of the set, 10-9.  A moment later, kills by sophomore Savannah Byers (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley), freshman Calyne Schmidt (Lacey, Wash./North Thurston) and Mummau extended the lead to 14-11.  Geneva slowly extended their lead to 20-15 after a kill and a block from Veon, and an ace from Mummau, and junior Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) finished off the set, 25-19, with an ace.

True to form, W&J jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the third set, but the Golden Tornadoes immediately responded with five straight points as Neville had two aces and Schmidt a kill.  The Presidents would answer with a run to take back the lead, 8-6, but five more straight points by Geneva, on back-to-back aces by freshman Lydia Wilson (New Springfield, Ohio/Heartland Christian) and kills by Veon and Mummau, gave the Golden Tornadoes an 11-8 lead.  After W&J pulled back even, 12-12, another five-point Geneva run, with Veon contributing back-to-back aces, along with kills from Peachey and Wilson, gave the Golden Tornadoes a 17-12 lead.  Geneva then easily closed out the set, 25-17, on back-to-back kills from Schmidt and Mummau.

After the initial rough start, Geneva finished the match with an impressive .248 hitting percentage, totaling 48 kills and 17 errors, 10 of which came in the first set.  Mummau led the way with 13 kills, while Schmidt added 10 kills.  Peachey finished with 22 assists, 10 digs and four kills.  Townsend had a team-high 19 digs, while Wilson added 18 assists and seven digs. 

"We were probably a little fortunate to win the first set after we had so many errors," said Head Coach Wendy Smith.  "But once we turned that around, we played really well.  Finishing with 48 kills in a three-set match is a good effort, and after a rough start at the service line, we finished well with 12 aces.  When we play like we did in the last two sets, we are a strong team."

Geneva enters the final week of the season in sixth place in the conference standings.  The Golden Tornadoes start the week with a home doubleheader against Bethany on Tuesday, beginning at 6:00 p.m.  The second match is a makeup of the match postponed earlier in the 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).