LATROBE, Pa. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team added two more victories to its current winning streak, now up to five matches, with two victories at a tri-match at Saint Vincent on Saturday. Geneva opened the day with a tough five-set victory over Penn State Behrend 25-20, 25-19, 23-25, 17-25, 15-10, which ended the Lions' ten-game winning streak. The Golden Tornadoes then followed that up with a sweep of Saint Vincent 25-22, 25-12, 25-15. Geneva's record now stands at 9-10 overall, 5-1 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC).
Geneva took control of the first set with Penn State Behrend with four straight points behind the serving of sophomore Carter Milroy (Colorado Springs, Colo./TCA College Pathways) to take a 10-6 lead. Kills by Milroy and juniors Byron Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Jake Williams (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) helped the Golden Tornadoes extend their lead to 20-11, and Milroy finished off the set with a kill, 25-20. Geneva hit .323 in the set.
Spear put together a personal four-point run with three kills and an ace to give Geneva a 9-6 lead in the second set. A kill from senior Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) helped the Golden Tornadoes extend their lead to 12-8 before the Lions scored seven straight points, as Geneva struggled with hitting errors. However, a kill by Williams kickstarted a four-point run for the Golden Tornadoes, the last on a kill from sophomore Emerson Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills), to give Geneva the lead back, 16-15. Penn State Behrend pulled level, but a couple minutes later Geneva used a four-point run to take a 24-18 lead, and a kill by Williams finished off the set, 25-19.
Things started poorly for Geneva in the third set, with the Lions jumping out to a 5-1 lead on their way to a 9-3 advantage. The Golden Tornadoes responded quickly, though, with two kills from Milroy and a kill from Byron Spear part of four straight points. After a Penn State Behrend point, Geneva scored four more points on two kills from Barbato and a kill each from Byron and Emerson Spear, giving the Golden Tornadoes an 11-10 lead. The Lions had a response though, building their lead back to 23-17. Geneva scored five straight points behind the serving of junior Curtis Thomas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Christian Heritage Academy) to pull within one point, but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't come all the way back and lost 25-23.
Penn State Behrend carried that momentum into the fourth set, using a four-point run to take a 9-4 lead. A Barbato kill pulled Geneva within 11-9, but that was as close as the Golden Tornadoes would get. The Lions responded with a 7-3 run to establish an 18-12 lead, and Penn State Behrend cruised 25-17 to send the game to a fifth set. The Lions hit .306 in the set.
Geneva got off to a great start in the final set. Emerson Spear opened with a kill, followed by a block from Byron and Emerson Spear. Barbato and Byron Spear added kills, Bryon and Emerson Spear came up with another block, and Thomas had an ace as the Golden Tornadoes scored the first seven points of the set. The Lions pulled within four points late, but a kill from Barbato finished off the match, 15-10.
Barbato and Byron Spear led the offense with 15 kills apiece, which tied Spear's career high, while Williams added 12 kills and Milroy 10 kills in a balanced attack for the Golden Tornadoes. Byron and Emerson Spear each finished with nine blocks, which was a career high for Byron. Thomas had 50 assists, tying a career high, while freshman Joshua Sangrey (Landisburg, Pa./Homeschool) had a career-high 22 digs, Byron Spear a career-high 19 digs and Williams 14 digs. Geneva hit .181 as a team, while Penn State Behrend finished at .176, with JP Goodsel leading the Lions with 21 kills.
The Golden Tornadoes turned right around to play Saint Vincent in the second match of the day. The Bearcats scored the first three points of the first set. Saint Vincent still led 8-5 when Geneva scored six straight points, the last on a kill from Williams. The Bearcats continued to hang around, though, as the Golden Tornadoes could never gain much of an advantage. Saint Vincent never got closer than two points the rest of the set, though, and Barbato finished off the set with a kill, 25-22.
Geneva scored the first two points of the second set on an ace from Thomas and a kill from Byron Spear, and the Golden Tornadoes led the whole way. Geneva steadily pulled away, using a 6-1 run to take a 21-11 lead, and the Golden Tornadoes easily won 25-12.
The third set wasn't much different. Saint Vincent scored the first point of the set before Geneva scored eight straight points. Emerson Spear had three kills in the run. The set was never close as the Golden Tornadoes stretched their lead to 21-8 before a kill from Milroy finished off the match, 25-15.
Milroy led the team with nine kills, while Byron Spear had seven and Emerson Spear six kills for the Golden Tornadoes. Milroy led the team with three blocks, Thomas had 16 assists and Byron Spear 13 digs to lead the team. Sangrey added 12 digs. Geneva hit .267 as a team while holding Saint Vincent to a -0.029 hitting percentage.
Geneva returns home next Wednesday for a match with Baldwin Wallace at 7:00 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).
