COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Geneva College women's volleyball team split a pair of matches on the final day of the Pam Briggs Classic, hosted on Saturday at Capital University.  In the first match of the day against the hosts, Capital, the Golden Tornadoes prevailed 25-20, 13-25, 25-20, 25-18.  In the second match of the day against the University of Mount Union, Geneva fell in straight sets 13-25, 13-25, 9-25.  Geneva's record is now 2-6 overall.

In the first match against Capital, Geneva scored the first seven points of the first set, with the Crusaders committing five attack errors during the run.  Capital bounced right back, though, going on a 7-1 run to pull within 8-7.  A 4-1 run later in the set by Geneva, including back-to-back kills from freshman Megan Veon (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) and junior Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian), extended the lead to 15-10.  Capital never got closer than three points the rest of the set, with freshman Calyne Schmidt (Lacey, Wash./North Thurston) contributing three kills down the stretch to win 25-18.

It was the Crusaders who scored the first three points of the second set, but an ace by freshman Zoe Pifer (Keyser, W.Va./Calvary Christian), and kills by Schmidt and freshman Kami Mummau (Mount Joy, Pa./Mount Calvary Christian) put Geneva head 5-4.  Two more kills by Mummau extended the lead to 9-7, but the Golden Tornadoes began to falter at that point in the set.  Capital scored six straight points to take a 13-9 lead, and Geneva could never recover the momentum.  The Crusaders finished the set on a 17-4 run to win easily, 25-13.

Freshman Lydia Wilson (New Springfield, Ohio/Heartland Christian) opened the third set with an ace, followed by a kill by Schmidt, to give Geneva the early 2-0 lead.  The Golden Tornadoes still led 6-4 when Capital responded with six straight points to move ahead 10-6.  The Golden Tornadoes still trailed 16-12 when Geneva turned things around.  Back-to-back kills by Mummau got things started, and a moment later four straight points, punctuated by another kill by Mummau, gave Geneva the lead back, 19-17.  The Golden Tornadoes closed out the set on two kills by Veon, an ace and a kill by Schmidt, and sophomore Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) finished off the set with a kill, 25-20.

Capital opened the fourth set by taking an early 4-1 lead.  Moments later, though, Mummau scored three straight on two kills and an ace to give Geneva its first lead of the set, 7-6.  The score went back-and-forth over the next few minutes before the Golden Tornadoes took command.  With the score tied at 13-13, a kill by Schmidt and two blocks by Veon and Schmidt helped Geneva score four straight, and the Golden Tornadoes would never trail again.  Veon contributed two kills and ace, and Mummau a kill and an ace down the stretch, and Geneva finished off the match with a 25-18 victory.

Schmidt and Mummau led Geneva with 12 kills apiece.  Veon and Schmidt also led the way with six blocks, as Geneva's defense at the net was particularly strong against Capital.  Wilson had 20 assists, while Peachey added 12 assists.  Pifer led the team with 22 digs, with Townsend right behind with 20 digs.  Mummau and Wilson each added 11 and 10 digs, respectively, giving both players a double-double.  Geneva wasn't great at the net offensively, finishing with a .113 hitting percentage, but it was more than enough for the victory after holding Capital to a -.014 hitting percentage.

Geneva took on Mount Union in the second match, a squad that came into the day with a perfect 6-0 record, having only dropped one set in its first six matches.  The Purple Raiders looked strong early, jumping ahead 5-1 in the first set, and Geneva never got closer than three points the rest of the set, with Mount Union winning 25-13.

Geneva jumped ahead 2-0 in the second set, and a kill by Schmidt gave the Golden Tornadoes a 4-3 lead.  But it was all Mount Union from there.  The Purple Raiders responded with an 8-1 run, and they never let up.  Seven straight Mount Union points made it 22-10, and the Purple Raiders won set two, 25-13.

Mount Union began the set with two five-point runs, sandwiched around a Geneva point, and the Purple Raiders ran away with the set from there, 25-9.

The numbers weren't pretty from the second match.  Mummau led the team with six kills as Geneva managed just 19 kills in the match.  Wilson had 11 assists, and Townsend 16 digs, to lead the Golden Tornadoes.  Mount Union finished the match with a .361 hitting percentage.  Schmidt was named to the All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the event.

"Lack of consistency is the theme of the season so far," said Head Coach Wendy Smith.  "I was really encouraged by the way we played against Capital.  Mount Union is a very good team, and they would have been tough to defeat even if we were at the top of our game.  But we just didn't play well from the start, and we were never really in the match.  As has been the case so far this year, there are good moments mixed with poor moments.  Hopefully as the season progresses, we'll have more of the good and less of the poor."

Geneva continues its 13-game road stretch to open the season with a match at John Carroll University on Friday night, beginning at 7:00 p.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 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).