UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – This young Geneva College women's volleyball team, playing without two starters, put together its best performance of the season on Friday night, going on the road and knocking off John Carroll in four sets 25-22, 27-25, 12-25, 25-21. It was Geneva's first win over the Blue Streaks since 2011, with John Carroll coming into this match having already defeated top Presidents' Athletic Conference squads Westminster and Bethany this season. The impressive victory improved Geneva's record to 3-6, while John Carroll dropped to 6-5.
It was John Carroll who jumped out early in the first set, 6-3. Geneva slowly began to chip away, though, and after sophomores Savannah Byers (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) and Tess Neville (Lisbon, Ohio/Crestview) contributed back-to-back kills, the Golden Tornadoes evened the score at 9-9. The Blue Streaks grabbed the next point, but two more kills by Byers and Neville were part of a 4-1 run that gave Geneva the lead back, 13-11. John Carroll evened the score at 16-16, but back-to-back kills from freshman Megan Veon (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk Area) and Neville were part of three straight points that gave the Golden Tornadoes a 19-16 advantage, and Geneva would not relinquish its lead. Fittingly, a kill by Neville finished off the set for the Golden Tornadoes, 25-21.
In the second set, trailing 7-5, Geneva scored four straight points on kills by Veon, Neville and Byers and an ace by Veon. After a John Carroll point, the Golden Tornadoes reeled off six more points, with junior Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) contributing two kills, along with kills from Neville and Byers and an ace from sophomore Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty), increasing Geneva's lead to 15-8. John Carroll did not go away, though. After a kill by freshman Kami Mummau (Mount Joy, Pa./Mount Calvary Christian) gave the Golden Tornadoes a 17-11 lead, the Blue Streaks scored five straight to pull within 17-16, and a moment later, John Carroll tied the score at 18-18. Kills by Mummau and Veon helped Geneva regain the lead, 21-18, but a moment later John Carroll's three-point run evened the score at 23-23. The teams alternated the next four points before two John Carroll errors enabled Geneva to hold on for a 27-25 win.
A kill by Byers gave Geneva an early 2-1 lead in the third set, and then things fell apart quickly. John Carroll scored four straight, and a few minutes later the Blue Streaks scored six straight to take a 17-7 lead, and John Carroll cruised from there to a dominating 25-12 win. Geneva hit -0.081 in the set to John Carroll's .323 hitting percentage.
Geneva quickly shook off the bad set, though, scoring the first four points of the fourth set, with Townsend and Mummau contributing kills. John Carroll, however, quickly responded with a run to take lead back, 9-6. To the Golden Tornadoes credit, though, this young squad did not fold. A kill by Veon and an ace by Mummau helped Geneva even the score at 9-9. A moment later, a kill by Townsend gave the Golden Tornadoes the lead back, 12-11. John Carroll evened the score at 14-14, but Veon contributed two blocks and a kill in a four-point run to give Geneva an 18-14 lead. The Blue Streaks scored three straight to pull within one, but kills by Townsend and Neville, sandwiched around an ace from Mummau, extended the Golden Tornado lead to 21-17. Once again John Carroll pulled within one point, 22-21, but Geneva would not give in. A kill by Neville, a block by Byers and an ace by Peachey finished off the set, and the match, 25-21, giving the Golden Tornadoes their most impressive win of the season.
Neville finished with a career-high 14 kills to lead Geneva, while Veon added a career-best 11 kills on a .375 hitting percentage. Mummau contributed eight kills, while Byers and Townsend each added seven kills in a balanced Geneva attack. John Carroll finished the match with a better hitting percentage, .243 to .158, but the Golden Tornadoes blocked and served better. Freshman Zoe Pifer (Keyser, W.Va./Calvary Christian) led Geneva with 22 digs, while Townsend and Peachey each added 14 digs. Peachey had a career-high 40 assists in directing the offense.
"I'm so proud of this group," said Head Coach Wendy Smith. "We've had a really challenging schedule so far, and we've gone through a lot of adversity, including tonight playing without two key players. But this young group just keeps growing and improving. Every week I can see progress as we learn how to play smarter and under control. I thought we owned the service line tonight, and our serve-receive was strong as well. Our hitters had better shot selection, and our block came up with key points for us. We have a long way to go still, and there will still be ups and downs ahead, but this is a really exciting win for our team and one more step along the way to where we want to get to."
Geneva has a very short turnaround for its next match, with the Golden Tornadoes traveling down to Wooster and taking on Roanoke tomorrow at 12:00 p.m., followed by a match with Bluffton at 2:00 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).
