LATROBE, Pa. – The second night of the season was just as successful for the Geneva College women's volleyball team as the first one.  The Golden Tornadoes traveled to Saint Vincent on Tuesday night and made quick work of the Bearcats, sweeping Saint Vincent 25-19, 25-13, 25-21.  Geneva improved to 3-0 overall, 2-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Saint Vincent fell to 0-2, 0-2 in the PAC.

Saint Vincent took the early lead in the first set, and the Bearcats made Geneva play from behind for the first ten minutes of the match.  In fact, Saint Vincent steadily increased its lead until it reached 16-11, prompting Head Coach Wendy Smith to call a timeout.  Whatever Smith said in the huddle clearly worked.  The Golden Tornadoes immediately took over momentum and never gave it back.  Geneva blitzed Saint Vincent the rest of the way, finishing the set on a 14-3 run to win the set 25-19.  Senior Daphne Hunsinger (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock) had five kills down the stretch to lead the way.

The second set stayed close early.  Freshman Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) earned Geneva's first three points on kills, but each team took turns leading by two points, with the lead switching hands multiple times.  However, Geneva took over midway through the set just like the Golden Tornadoes had done in the first set.  Geneva led 12-10 when another kill by Hunsinger got the Golden Tornadoes rolling again.  An ace by freshman Tess Neville (Lisbon, Ohio/Crestview) and a kill from sophomore Olivia Moore (North Canton, Ohio/Lake Center Christian) soon followed as part of a four-point run.  A point from Saint Vincent didn't slow down Geneva, with another kill by Peachey and two more from Hunsinger helping Geneva score seven straight points to take a 23-11 lead, and the Golden Tornadoes finished off the set, 25-13, on another kill from Hunsinger.

Saint Vincent jumped ahead again early in the third set by two, but three straight points by Geneva on kills from Hunsinger, junior Elana Hoppel (Castorland, N.Y./Lowville Academy and Central) and Peachey regained the lead for the Golden Tornadoes.  The Bearcats managed to pull even at 8-8, but two kills from Neville and two from junior Hannah Dusse (Plant City, Fla./Lakeland Christian) gave Geneva four straight points.  A moment later, a kill from Dusse and back-to-back aces by Neville were part of a five-point run that built Geneva's lead to 18-11, and despite a little bit of sloppy play late, the Golden Tornadoes finished off the sweep of the Bearcats, 25-21, with Hunsinger fittingly providing the final point on another kill.

"We certainly got off to a rough start in that first set, with this being our first road trip of the season," said Smith.  "But we settled down nicely and I thought, other than a couple brief moments, played really pretty well.  Daphne was really good, picking up her first triple-double of the season.  They didn't have an answer for her.  I thought Samantha and Hannah really played well also, hitting a good percentage, and Kayla served really well also.  She wasn't credited with any aces, but her serve really got them out of rhythm.  This can be a tough place to play, so to come down here and sweep them pretty convincingly is a sign were headed in the right direction."

Hunsinger's first triple-double of the season was her school-record 19^th.  She finished with 12 kills (on a .478 hitting percentage), 28 assists and 13 digs.  Moore added eight kills, Neville seven kills, Dusse and Peachey six kills apiece, and Hoppel five kills in a very balanced offensive attack.  Junior Kayla Coughlin (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) provided a match-high 23 digs.  As a team, Geneva hit a strong .242 percentage, while Saint Vincent finished with just an .070 percentage on attacks.

Geneva will now look ahead to a big doubleheader this Saturday when the Golden Tornadoes host Westminster starting at 10:00 a.m. in Metheny Fieldhouse.


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.