BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's volleyball team opened Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play on Saturday morning when the Golden Tornadoes hosted Grove City inside Metheny Fieldhouse, and the Wolverines held off a late Geneva rally to win 25-23, 25-15, 20-25, 26-24.  Geneva dropped to 6-11 overall, 0-1 in the PAC, while Grove City improved to 10-7, 2-0 in the PAC.

The first set proved tight most of the way.  Geneva took its first lead, 9-8, on a kill from sophomore Megan Veon (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk).  A moment later, another kill from Veon and a kill and ace from freshman Emily Nelson (Kijabe, Kenya/Rift Valley Academy) gave the Golden Tornadoes a 12-10 lead.  Grove City responded with its best stretch a minute later, using seven straight points to take an 18-13 lead.  Geneva battled back, though.  Trailing 22-19, Geneva scored four straight points, three on kills from Veon, to give the Golden Tornadoes the lead back, 23-22.  However, Grove City scored the final three points to take the set, 25-23.

Geneva took an early 3-1 lead in the second set before things fell apart.  The Wolverines scored five straight points as part of a 14-3 run to take full control of the set, and Grove City easily took set 25-15.

The Golden Tornadoes got off to a better start in the fourth set.  Two early kills from Veon and an ace from sophomore Kennedi Stockey (Fayette City, Pa./Geibel Catholic) gave Geneva an 8-4 lead.  Grove City would pull within 11-10 before kills from Nelson and freshman Liz Samuelsen (Fort Leonard, Mo./Maranatha Baptist Academy), along with an ace from freshman Ashley Monroe (Warren, Ohio/Labrae Local), pushed the Golden Tornado lead back to 15-11.  The Wolverines again rallied, though, pulling level three times over the next few minutes, the last time coming at 18-18.  Geneva answered, though, with five straight points, and the Golden Tornadoes closed out the set 25-20.

Grove City had the better of the play early in the fourth set, taking a 6-2 lead.  Geneva would pull within 7-6 on a kill from senior Hope Shook (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) and an ace from senior Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) before the Wolverines scored five straight to take a 12-6 lead.  That forced the Golden Tornadoes to play from behind for most of the set.  Geneva pulled within three points multiple times, but Grove City looked ready to finish off the match when the Wolverines got to match point, 24-19.  The Golden Tornadoes had one last run left, though.  Geneva scored five straight points to fend off five match points and even the set at 24-24.  However, Grove City scored the final two points to win 26-24.

Shook and Veon each had 13 kills to lead the Golden Tornadoes, though the team hit just .092 compared to Grove City's .142 hitting percentage.  Eleven service errors also hampered the Geneva effort.  Monroe had a team-high 24 assists, while freshman Heather Seubert (Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity) led the team with 18 digs.

The women will be back in action next Wednesday when the Golden Tornadoes travel to Westminster for a 7:00 p.m. matchup with the Titans.

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).