BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's volleyball team dropped another frustrating five-set match on Thursday night, the sixth five-set loss of the season, falling to W&J 22-25, 23-25, 25-12, 25-19, 9-15.  The Golden Tornadoes dropped to 8-13 overall, 2-3 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while W&J improved to 10-7, 2-3 in the PAC.

Geneva will undoubtedly look back at the first two sets as big missed opportunities.  The Golden Tornadoes held a 19-16 lead in the first after an ace from freshman Ashley Monroe (Warren, Ohio/Labrae Local) before W&J scored four straight points and stormed back to win 25-22.

The second set was another one Geneva let get away.  The Golden Tornadoes took a 21-17 lead after an ace from freshman Emily Nelson (Kijabe, Kenya/Rift Valley Academy), but again Geneva couldn't finish out the set.  W&J scored five straight points and eventually took the set, 25-23.

The Golden Tornadoes got off to a better start in the third set, storming out to a 7-1 lead, and the set was never really close.  Geneva steadily pulled away for a 25-12 victory as junior Savannah Byers (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) and sophomore Megan Veon (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) each had three kills in the set.

Geneva scored the first four points of the fourth set after senior Hope Shook (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) and Byers opened with kills.  The Presidents would pull even at 10-10 before the Golden Tornadoes took control with a 6-1 run, and Geneva finished off that set, 25-19, to send the match to a fifth set.  Nelson had four kills in the set, while Byers, Shook and freshman Liz Samuelsen (Fort Leonard Wood, Mo./Maranatha Baptist Academy) each had three kills.

Geneva scored the first two points of the fifth set and led 4-3 before the wheels fell off.  W&J scored six straight points, and the Golden Tornadoes could never recover in falling 15-9.

Shook led a balanced attack with 15 kills.  Veon finished with 14 kills, while Byers had a career-high 10 kills on a .348 hitting percentage.  Monroe had a team-best 22 assists, while Nelson and freshman Heather Seubert (Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity) each had 19 digs.  Geneva outhit W&J in both kills, 57-53, and hitting percentage, .144 to .118.

The women now have very little margin for error if they want to be one of the six teams to make the PAC playoffs.  They have five matches left in the regular season, starting with a game at Bethany next Wednesday.  The Golden Tornadoes probably need to win four of those matches to feel safe, with four of the five teams left on the schedule ahead of Geneva in the standings.

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).