BETHANY, W. Va. – The Geneva College women's volleyball team got off to a great start at Bethany in its match on Wednesday night, but the Golden Tornadoes could sustain their early strong play and lost in four sets to the Bison 25-15, 23-25, 16-25, 22-25.  The loss is a damaging one for Geneva's postseason chances, dropping the women's record to 8-14 overall, 2-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Bethany improved to 11-11, 3-3 in the PAC.

Geneva got off to a great start in the first set, using an early five-point run to take a 6-2 lead over the Bison.  Bethany would close to within two points a couple of times, but a six-point run midway through the set, including two kills from senior Hope Shook (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood-Antis), gave the Golden Tornadoes a big 17-8 edge, and Geneva easily took the first set 25-15.

Kills from freshman Liz Samuelsen (Fort Leonard Wood, Mo./Maranatha Baptist Academy), junior Savannah Byers (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) and freshman Emily Nelson (Kijabe, Kenya/Rift Valley Academy) were part of another six-point run early in the second set to give Geneva an 8-4 lead.  The Golden Tornadoes eventually stretched their lead to 11-5 before the Bison answered with a 7-1 run to pull even at 12-12.  A kill from senior Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) kicked off a four-point run for Geneva to regain a 16-12 edge.  However, Bethany finished the set better.  The Bison followed with a 10-2 run to take a 22-20 lead.  A kill and a block from sophomore Megan Veon (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) evened the set at 22-22, but Bethany closed out the set on a 3-1 run to win 25-23.

Bethany used an early 6-1 run in the third set to take a 10-6 lead, and the Bison slowly stretched their lead out from there, with Geneva never really able to get back into the set.  Bethany took the set, 25-16, with the Golden Tornadoes hitting negative .095 in the set.

Things started poorly for Geneva in the fourth set as well, with the Bison taking an early 8-3 lead.  The Golden Tornadoes showed some life midway through the set, scoring six straight points behind two kills from Townsend, a kill from Shook and an ace from freshman Heather Seubert (Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity), to take their first lead of the set, 17-15.  Unfortunately, the momentum didn't last long.  Bethany regained the lead with four straight points, and after Geneva knotted the set at 20-20, Bethany scored the next three points and finished off the set, and the match, 25-22.

Neither team's attack was very effective.  Geneva hit just .051, while Bethany wasn't much better at .069.  The Bison finished with 11 more kills than the Golden Tornadoes, though.  Samuelsen continued her recent strong play, finishing with eight kills to lead the women.  Veon and Shook each added seven kills, while Nelson and Townsend finished with six kills.  Seubert led the defense with a career-high 33 digs, while Townsend added 18 digs, 10 assists and four blocks in a strong all-around performance.  Freshman Ashley Monroe (Warren, Ohio/Labrae Local) finished with a team-best 13 assists.

Geneva now has its back against the wall when it comes to its postseason chances.  The Golden Tornadoes will need to win at least three of their remaining four matches, if not all four of them, if they want to make the postseason.  Geneva has never missed the PAC playoffs since joining the conference 11 years ago.  The women's next match is this Saturday at Chatham, beginning at 12:00 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).