NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Geneva College women's volleyball team opened Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play on Wednesday with a tri-match at Westminster against the Titans and Grove City, the top two teams in the PAC preseason poll. The ladies once again showed flashes, but Geneva continued to struggle with consistency and dropped both matches in four sets. In the first match against Westminster, Geneva fell 9-25, 25-21, 14-25, 21-25. The Golden Tornadoes followed that up with a 25-22, 21-25, 15-25, 19-25 loss to Grove City. Geneva dropped to 3-10 overall, 0-2 in the PAC.
In the first match, Westminster scored the first three points of the first set, but Geneva answered right back with three points on two kills by sophomore Tess Neville (Lisbon, Ohio/Crestview) and an ace by freshman Megan Veon (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk). It was all Westminster from there, though. The Titans used six straight points as part of an 8-1 run to take command of the set, and the Golden Tornadoes could never regain control. Westminster finished the set on a 22-6 run to win 25-9.
The Titans looked like they were going to run away with the second set as well, jumping out to an 8-2 lead. Geneva battled back, though. A kill by junior Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) and three more kills by Neville helped bring Geneva to within 11-8. After a point by Westminster, the Golden Tornadoes scored four straight on two kills by Townsend, an ace by Neville and a kill from freshman Calyne Schmidt (Lacey, Wash./North Thurston) to even the score at 12-12. Westminster followed with a point, but Geneva's run continued. Townsend had two more kills, while freshman Lydia Wilson (New Springfield, Ohio/Heartland Christian) contributed an ace to give the Golden Tornadoes a 16-14 lead. The Titans scored twice to even the score, but Geneva took control with five straight points, with a kill from sophomore Destiny Pratt (Columbus, Ohio/Lincoln Park), an ace by Townsend and a kill by Neville giving the Golden Tornadoes a 21-16 lead, and Geneva finished off the set on another kill by Townsend, 25-21.
Inconsistency continued to plague Geneva, though, and the Golden Tornadoes could not sustain the momentum. Westminster jumped ahead 4-1, forcing Geneva to play from behind. Back-to-back kills from Neville pulled Geneva within 12-9, but a moment later the Titans took control with six straight points, extending their lead to 20-10, and Westminster easily closed out the set, 25-14.
Geneva took an early 4-3 lead on a kill by sophomore Savannah Byers (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley), but another run by Westminster once again forced the Golden Tornadoes to play from behind. The Titans scored six of the next seven points to take a 9-5 lead. Geneva would pull to within 16-14 on kills by Veon and Schmidt, but Westminster scored the next four points to regain control, and the Titans finished off the match, 25-21.
Neville finished with a career-high 18 kills, a week after a putting up a career-high 14 kills in a win over John Carroll. Townsend added seven kills, but the Golden Tornadoes didn't get enough help from their other hitters. Wilson had a team-high 20 assists, while freshman Zoe Pifer (Keyser, W.Va./Calvary Christian) contributed a team-high 18 digs. Townsend also added 12 digs.
The second match against Grove City started poorly, with the Wolverines grabbing an early 6-2 lead in the first set. Grove City eventually stretched its lead to 12-5 before the Golden Tornadoes regrouped. Veon contributed back-to-back kills, and just a couple of minutes later, a kill by Townsend gave Geneva a 15-14 lead. The Wolverines scored the next four points, but the Golden Tornadoes bounced right back, with a block from sophomore Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs Colo./Liberty) and Veon regaining the lead for Geneva, 21-20. Then, with the score tied 22-22, kills by Veon, Neville and Byers finished off the set, 25-22.
Geneva once again dug itself and early hole in the second set, a common theme for the day, falling behind 4-1. The Golden Tornadoes would pull to within two points multiple times, but service errors were a real problem for Geneva, preventing the Golden Tornadoes from putting together any kind of extended run, and Grove City evened the match at once set apiece, 25-21.
Grove City once again jumped all over Geneva early in the third set. With Geneva trailing 4-2, the Wolverines scored five straight points, and after a Geneva point, Grove City added six more points to give the Wolverines a commanding 15-3 lead, and Grove City easily closed out the set, 25-15.
True to form, Geneva again gave up a big early run in the fourth set to put the Golden Tornadoes in a big hole. With Geneva leading 3-2, Grove City reeled off seven straight points to take a 9-3 lead. The Golden Tornadoes tried to rally, and a kill by Pratt, an ace from Wilson and a kill from Schmidt brought Geneva to within 12-11. That was as close as the Golden Tornadoes would get. Grove City extended its lead back to 18-13, and while Geneva would get to within 20-18, Grove City closed out the set, the final point fittingly coming on a Geneva service error, 25-19.
Schmidt led Geneva with a career-high 13 kills. Neville finished with 11 kills, while Veon added 10 kills. Townsend finished with a career-high 34 digs, while Pifer added 17 digs. Wilson had 24 assists, with Peachey adding 20 assists. The Golden Tornadoes finished the match with 12 service errors, while being outhit .190 to .139.
"The schedule hasn't done us any favors, with the difficult non-conference schedule and then starting PAC play on the road against Westminster and Grove City," said Head Coach Wendy Smith. "That said, we have to take the next step and begin cleaning up some of our mistakes. We didn't serve well today, nor did we serve-receive well either. I know we're young, but we're capable of more consistent play. We can't continue to repeatedly give up big runs against good teams and expect to come back. We get into these ruts and can't get a side out when we need it. If we can limit those runs, we have a chance to compete with anyone in this league."
After opening the season with 13 matches away from home, Geneva finally gets a chance to play in Metheny Fieldhouse tomorrow night when the Golden Tornadoes host Waynesburg 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).
