GREENVILLE, Pa. – It took the Geneva College men's volleyball team five sets at Thiel on Wednesday night, but the Golden Tornadoes ultimately prevailed 18-25, 25-18, 25-16, 23-25, 15-9, to earn their third straight victory. Junior Byron Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and sophomore Emerson Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North hills) led the way, with Byron finishing with a career-high 15 kills and Emerson leading the team with 10 blocks, with the Golden Tornadoes getting strong contributions from just about everyone that played. Geneva improved to 7-10 overall, 3-1 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.
The teams alternated the first six points of the first set before the Tomcats reeled off seven straight points to take a 10-3 lead. A kill by junior Jake Williams (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) and an ace from senior Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) helped Geneva pull within 11-9, but the Golden Tornadoes would not get any closer, with Thiel pulling away for a 25-18 victory. Geneva struggled with its attack, finishing with just six kills and committing six errors, while the Tomcats hit .250.
A kill from Barbato gave Geneva its first lead of the match to begin the second set. Thiel would even the score at 4-4, but four straight Golden Tornado points, with Williams and Byron Spear picking up kills and Williams and sophomore Carter Milroy (Colorado Springs, Colo./TCA College Pathways) contributing a double block. The Tomcats would never get closer than three points again. Geneva used another four-point run, with Milroy and Barbato picking up kills, to take a 20-13 lead, and a double block by Byron and Emerson Spear finished off the set, 25-18. The Golden Tornadoes hit .375 in the second set with 11 kills and just two errors.
Geneva scored the first point of the third set again, and the Golden Tornadoes never trailed in the set, though Thiel tied the set multiple times early on. With the set tied 5-5, Geneva put together another four-point run, with Milroy picking up two aces, to put the Golden Tornadoes ahead 9-5. The Tomcats would pull within two points twice, the last time coming at 18-16, but Geneva finished the set on a 7-1 run, including the last five points, to win 25-17. Geneva hit .259 in the set with 10 kills and just three errors.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams alternating runs. Neither team led by more than two points early until Geneva scored three straight to take an 11-8 lead. Thiel answered right back with five straight points. A couple minutes later the Golden Tornadoes scored three straight to regain the lead, 17-16, but the Tomcats answered right back with six straight points to take a 22-17 lead. Geneva responded with four straight points to pull within 22-21, but the Golden Tornadoes could never pull level and lost 25-23, sending the match to a fifth and final set.
Geneva came out firing in the fifth set and never gave the Tomcats a chance. Kills from Barbato and Byron Spear gave the Golden Tornadoes the first two points, and after a Thiel kill, Barbato added a kill and an ace, and Spear delivered another kill as well to give Geneva a 5-1 lead. The Golden Tornadoes never let the Tomcats put together a run. Milroy and Williams had a kill, and then after a long rally with Geneva leading 8-4, the Golden Tornadoes won the point with a triple block from Milroy, Barbato and junior Curtis Thomas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Christian Heritage Academy). Spear finished off the victory, one of the best sets Geneva has played all year, with a kill, 15-9. The Golden Tornadoes hit .563 in the set with 10 kills and just one error.
Byron Spear led a balanced Geneva attack with those career-high 15 kills, on a .344 hitting percentage. Barbato added 13 kills, 11 digs and four aces. Milroy finished with 11 kills and five blocks, while Williams contributed eight kills and five blocks. Emerson Spear led the team with those 10 blocks, one off his career high, as the Golden Tornadoes finished with 15 blocks. As a team Geneva hit .258. Thomas led the offense with 38 assists, while freshman Joshua Sangrey (Landisburg, Pa./Homeschool) added 10 digs.
Thiel hit .184 as a team, with Zac Smith leading three Tomcats in double figure kills with 18.
Geneva stays on the road this week when it travels to Saint Vincent for a tri-match on Saturday. The Golden Tornadoes play Penn State Behrend at 3:00 p.m. followed by a match against Saint Vincent at 5:00 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).
