BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team took care of business on Tuesday night with a straight-set victory over Alderson Broaddus by the score of 25-20, 25-9, 28-26.  The win was Geneva's fifth straight and improved its record to 7-5, while Alderson Broaddus fell to 3-6.

The Battlers took the early lead in the first set, 6-3, before Geneva strung together some offense.  The Golden Tornadoes used a 6-1 run, with kills from senior Dan Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian), freshman Carter Milroy (Colorado Springs, Colo./TCA College Pathways) and junior Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian), to take a 9-7 lead.  The set stayed close over the next several minutes, though, and Alderson Broaddus scored two straight to retake the lead, 17-16.  The Golden Tornadoes answered with back-to-back kills from sophomore Curtis Thomas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Christian Heritage Academy) and Barbato to regain the lead, and it was a part of a larger 9-3 run to close out the set, 25-20, with the last point coming on an ace from sophomore Wes Hoge (Venetia, Pa./Seton LaSalle).

The second set got out of hand quickly.  Geneva scored the first six points on its way to a 10-1 lead, with the Battlers committing numerous hitting errors to aid the Golden Tornado effort.  After Alderson Broaddus scored four straight points, Geneva put the set away with seven straight points behind the serving of sophomore Byron Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) to take a 19-6 lead.  The set ended fittingly on another Battler error, 25-9.  Alderson Broaddus hit negative .500 in the set, committing 14 errors while finishing with only three kills.

Geneva scored five straight points midway into the third set behind the serving of freshman Emerson Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) to take a 10-7 lead.  The Golden Tornadoes appeared to be in good shape by extending their lead to 19-14 before Geneva started to return the favor with errors.  Five straight Geneva errors allowed Alderson Broaddus to tie the set back up, and the Battlers had two match points at 24-22 before the Golden Tornadoes righted the ship.  Two straight kills from Barbato tied the match at 24-24, and after each team traded two points, Geneva scored the final two points, the last on an ace from Emerson Spear, to win 28-26.

Barbato led the way with team highs of 10 kills, seven digs and three aces.  Townsend added seven kills, while Milroy contributed four kills and four blocks.  Thomas led the offense with 20 assists.  Geneva hit .194 compared to a negative 0.61 hitting percentage by Alderson Broaddus.

"I thought our blocking and serve-receive was definitely improved tonight, especially compared to our first match with Alderson Broaddus to begin the season," said Head Coach Curt Conser.  "I didn't think anybody had a standout day, but I thought everyone played solidly and we got contributions from a number of people.  We got very sloppy in the third set, and though we did well enough to win the match, I'd still like to see us be sharper and more error-free in our play."

The win completed Geneva's non-conference schedule this season.  Geneva gets right back into conference action tomorrow night when the Golden Tornadoes travel to Saint Vincent for a 7:00 p.m. match.  It's the start of four straight road matches before Geneva finishes out the regular season with a home match on April 3 against Medaille.


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.