BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's volleyball team pulled one deep out of the first in the first match of a doubleheader with W&J on Saturday afternoon.  Trailing 2-1 and behind double-digits points to the Presidents in the fourth set, the Golden Tornadoes staved off six straight match points and rallied for a 21-25, 18-25, 25-19, 27-25, 15-10 win.  Geneva then followed that up with a 25-15, 23-25, 25-22, 25-15 victory in the second match.  The Golden Tornadoes improved their record to 9-1 overall, 5-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while W&J fell to 2-4 overall, 2-3 in the PAC.

Geneva jumped ahead in the first set on a kill by freshman Destiny Pratt (Aliquippa, Pa./Lincoln Park) and an ace from freshman Tess Neville (Lisbon, OH/Crestview) to take an early 3-1 lead.  However, a few minutes later W&J went on a huge 11-1 run to take a 13-5 lead, and Geneva never really threatened again in losing 25-21, as the Golden Tornadoes hit just .035 in the set.  It was a sign of things to come early on in the match.

The second set didn't go much better.  Attack and service errors were a consistent problem for Geneva.  W&J opened the set on a 4-1 run before Geneva put together a four-point run a few minutes later to take a brief 9-6 lead.  It didn't last long, though.  With the set tied 13-13, W&J finished the set on a 12-5 run, winning the set 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead.  The Golden Tornadoes hit a negative 0.056 in the set.

Geneva jumped ahead in the third set when senior Daphne Hunsinger (Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock) served the Golden Tornadoes to six straight points, including three service aces.  W&J quickly answered with a run to pull within 8-7, but Geneva responded with six straight points behind the service of sophomore Natalie Parra (Hurricane, W.Va./Homeschool).  The Presidents answered right back, though, scoring five straight to pull within 15-13.  Geneva was able to steadily pull away, though, eventually finishing off the set 25-19 on a kill by Hunsinger.  The Golden Tornadoes hit an improved .237 in the set.

The fourth set couldn't have started much more disastrously for Geneva.  W&J jumped ahead 12-1 in the opening minutes, and the Presidents still led 17-6, with even the most optimistic fans surely figuring the match was over.  Geneva didn't fold, though.  Pratt had back-to-back kills as part of a four-point run, but W&J still got to match point ahead 24-18.  The Golden Tornadoes had a response, though.  Behind the serving of sophomore Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian), Geneva scored seven straight points, fighting off six straight match points in the process.  Hunsinger had two kills in the run, and after a point by W&J evened the scored at 25-25, Geneva scored the last two points, the last on a kill by Hunsinger, to steal away the win, 27-25.

The Presidents actually opened the fifth set with three straight points, but Geneva responded with five straight points, with junior Elana Hoppel (Castorland, N.Y./Lowville Academy and Central) supplying a kill and two blocks.  W&J tied the score at 5-5, but a 7-1 run by the Golden Tornadoes put victory within reach at 12-6.  Hoppel and Hunsinger had kills, and Neville contributed a kill and a block in the run.  Geneva then finished off the match on a kill by sophomore Olivia Moore (North Canton, Ohio/Lake Center Christian) to win 15-10.

Hunsinger led the way again, narrowly missing out on her second triple-double of the week, finishing with 36 assists, 15 digs and eight kills.  Neville and Pratt had a team high 10 kills, while Hoppel had five of the team's 11 blocks.  Junior Kayla Coughlin (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) led the team with 29 digs, while Townsend and Hoppel each added 11 digs.

The second match proved one for each team to get several younger players some extended playing time, since it didn't count in the conference standings.

Geneva used seven straight points early in set one to take an 11-4 lead, and a 7-1 run later in the set extended the Golden Tornado lead to 21-10 on their way to a 25-15 win.

Geneva jumped ahead again in set two, this time by a score of 10-5, but the Presidents used a 10-3 run midway through the set to take a 20-18 lead.  Despite four straight Geneva points in response, W&J came back to win the set 25-23, including a 5-1 run at the end.

W&J took an early 4-1 lead in set three, but the Golden Tornadoes used six straight points midway through to take a 14-8 lead, and despite a late run by the Presidents, Geneva held on for a 25-22 win.

The Golden Tornadoes took an early lead in the fourth set, 8-4.  Geneva then used a seven-point run midway through the set to extend its lead to 21-10, and the Golden Tornadoes closed out the match on a kill from freshman Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty), 25-15.

Moore led the team in the second match with 13 kills, while Hoppel added eight and Neville seven kills.  Peachey led the offense with 34 assists, while Coughlin had a team-high 22 digs and Townsend 11 digs.

"There's really no way we should have won that first match," said Head Coach Wendy Smith.  "We played so poorly for most of that match, and to be down that many points in the fourth set, it's stunning we found a way to win.  We had too many players that struggled with errors in that first match, and W&J really was the better team for most the way.  But we found a way to rally and come up with a big win late.  Then I was more pleased with our effort in the second match in finishing off the sweep."

Geneva returns to action this Thursday with a home doubleheader against Chatham beginning at 6PM.


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.