BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – It had been 462 days since the Geneva College women's volleyball team last competed in a match.  That streak mercifully came to an end on Thursday night as the Golden Tornadoes defeated visiting Waynesburg in two matches to open their season.  Geneva swept the first match by a score of 25-11, 25-16, 25-12, which counted in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) standings.  The second match was considered a non-conference match, and the Golden Tornadoes won that won in four sets, 28-26, 27-25, 26-28, 25-17.  Geneva is now 2-0 overall, 1-0 in the PAC, while Waynesburg is 0-2 overall, 0-1 in the PAC.

Geneva wasted no time jumping on Waynesburg in the first match.  The Golden Tornadoes scored the first five points of the set, and after a Yellow Jacket point, Geneva reeled off five more straight points.  Sophomore Olivia Moore (North Canton, Ohio/Lake Center Christian) had two kills early, while junior Kayla Coughlin (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) added two aces.  The Yellow Jackets finally stopped the run with another point, but the Golden Tornadoes followed that with a 7-1 run to take a dominating 17-3 lead.  Junior Elana Hoppel (Castorland, N.Y./Lowville Academy and Central) had two kills in that stretch.  Waynesburg picked up a few points late before Geneva closed out the set 25-11.

The Golden Tornadoes took control of the second set midway through.  With the set tied at 7-7, freshman Tess Neville (Lisbon, Ohio/Crestview) scored four kills in a six-point run.  Waynesburg would pull within three, 15-12, but a 6-1 Golden Tornado run put the set away, and Geneva finished things off, 25-16.

The third set brought more of the same.  With the score tied 4-4, Geneva reeled off six straight points.  Waynesburg pulled to within two, 11-9, but a moment later seven straight Golden Tornado points put the set away.  Sophomore Hope Shook (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) had a kill and two aces in the run.  That gave Geneva a 21-11 lead, and the Golden Tornadoes finished off the match, 25-12.

Moore led the offense with nine kills, while Hoppel and junior Hannah Dusse (Plant City, Fla./Lakeland Christian) each added seven kills.  Senior Daphne Hunsinger (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock) had 28 assists, while Coughlin had 15 digs.  Geneva hit an impressive .304 in the match, while Waynesburg finished with a negative .022 hitting percentage.

The two teams took a 30-minute break before beginning the second match.  After the dominating first victory, Geneva substituted more freely in the second contest, experimenting with lineups, and that allowed the match to stay closer.  Geneva used a 7-2 run midway through the first set to take a 15-10 lead, and after the Golden Tornadoes extended their lead to 23-16, it appeared Geneva would have an easy victory.  The Golden Tornadoes struggled late, though, and despite leading 24-19, Waynesburg scored six straight points to get to set point, 25-24.  Geneva regrouped, though, with Shook picking up two kills, including the set-winner, to narrowly close things out, 28-26.

Geneva jumped ahead early in the second set, 11-6, with Hoppel and Dusse each registering two kills and Neville two aces.  However, Waynesburg responded again, and after a 7-2 run by the Yellow Jackets, Waynesburg led 20-18.  Geneva answered back, regaining the lead 24-22 on a kill by Moore, but the Golden Tornadoes struggled to get match point until a kill from Hoppel and a double block from Moore and Hoppel enabled Geneva to hold on, 27-25.

The third set was equally as tight, but Geneva couldn't finish off the sweep.  Waynesburg used a 9-1 run midway through the set to take a 15-11 lead.  The Golden Tornadoes battled back to retake the lead late, including 22-21, but it was Waynesburg who came up with the plays late, winning 28-26.

Geneva started the fourth set with its starters from the first match, and the Golden Tornadoes made quick work of things.  Geneva stormed out to a 12-1 lead, with Coughlin adding two more aces and Moore two more kills.  The Golden Tornadoes stretched their lead to 17-4 after Hoppel put together three kills in a four-point Geneva run, and despite some late points from Waynesburg, Geneva finished off the match 25-17 on a kill from Hoppel.

Hoppel led the offense in the second match, finishing with a career-high 14 kills.  Hunsinger narrowly missed her first triple-double of the season, finishing with 37 assists, 17 digs and nine kills.  Freshman Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs, Co./Liberty) also had a very strong match, adding nine kills (on a .529 hitting percentage) to go along with 14 assists and eight digs, while Neville contributed eight kills and eight digs.  Coughlin again led the team in digs with 28.  As a team, Geneva hit .161, while Waynesburg finished at .116.

"I was really encouraged with what I saw tonight," said Head Coach Wendy Smith.  "I was pretty confident about what our veterans would give us, but I thought we had some newcomers that really played well.  You just are never quite sure with freshmen how they'll play when the lights come on, and I thought they really stepped up tonight.  We still have a lot we need to smooth out, but it was a good first night for us.  I'm still figuring out where to plug some people in to give us our best play, but this was a step in the right direction."

Geneva travels to Saint Vincent next Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. match before returning home next Saturday, March 6, for a doubleheader with Westminster beginning at 10:00 a.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 is included on Kiplinger's Personal Finance's "2019 Best College Values" list and has one of the top 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.