PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Geneva College women's volleyball team has been unable to find any sort of momentum over the last month, playing teams tough but unable to win matches, and the struggles continued on Saturday afternoon at Chatham with the Cougars coming away with a sweep 25-20, 25-23, 26-24.  Geneva dropped to 8-15 overall, 2-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Chatham improved to 11-11, 4-4 in the PAC.
 
The first set was tight early, with the team trading points until the score reached 10-10.  Chatham scored the next three points on its way to a 15-11 lead, and Geneva trailed the rest of the set, never able to get closer than three points, losing 25-20.
 
Geneva controlled the second set early on, eventually stretching its leads to 16-9.  However, a timeout from Chatham seemed to settle the Cougars, who quickly evened the score at 17-17.  The teams alternated points until, with Geneva leading 22-21, the Cougars scored three straight points and finished off the set, 25-23.
 
Chatham scored four straight points early in the third set to take a 7-3 lead.  A moment later, Geneva responded with six straight points to take an 11-9 edge.  A couple minutes later, the Cougars scored three straight to regain the lead, 16-15.  Chatham stretched its lead to 22-19 before Geneva battled off two match points to tie the score at 24-24.  However, Chatham scored the final two points to finish off the match, 26-24.
 
Neither team hit a great percentage, with Chatham finishing at .092 and Geneva at .088.   Senior Hope Shook (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) led the team with eight kills, while junior Tess Neville (Lisbon, Ohio/Crestview) made her return from injury to contribute seven kills.  Senior Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) led the team with 15 digs, while junior Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) had a team-best 12 assists.
 
Geneva has one week left in the regular season, with two home games remaining.  The Golden Tornadoes host Thiel at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, followed by a home match against Franciscan on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in which Geneva will celebrate Senior Day.  The Golden Tornadoes wrap up the regular season at Saint Vincent on Saturday, and with Geneva's recent struggles, the Golden Tornadoes appear unlikely to qualify for the PAC playoffs for the first time since joining the conference.


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).