BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team picked up two conference wins on Saturday in its home tri-match. The Golden Tornadoes swept both Hilbert (25-12, 25-21, 25-14) and Saint Vincent (25-20, 25-20, 25-19) on Geneva's Senior Day in which the Golden Tornadoes honored seniors Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) and Matthew Slater (Butler, Pa./Butler) prior to the first match. The victories improved their record to 14-11 overall, 9-2 in the AMCC.
Geneva scored five straight points early in the first set against Hilbert, with Barbato contributing two kills and junior Jake Williams (North Huntindgon, Pa./Norwin) adding back-to-back aces, giving the Golden Tornadoes a 5-1 lead. A moment later, six straight points, with sophomore Emerson Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) picking up two blocks and a kill, gave Geneva a 12-3 lead, and the Golden Tornadoes easily won the first set 25-12.
Hilbert scored the first four points of the second set, and the Hawks eventually stretched their lead to 12-5 as Geneva struggled early. However, Williams had two kills in a six-point run to pull the Golden Tornadoes within one point. After a Hilbert point, Geneva followed with a 7-1 run to take an 18-14 lead, with sophomore Carter Milroy (Colorado Springs, Colo./TCA College Pathways) contributing two kills and a block. The Hawks would pull within one point twice, but Geneva held on and closed out the set on a kill from Williams, 25-21.
Geneva scored the first four points of the third set. Hilbert pulled within one point, 7-6, but the Golden Tornadoes immediately responded with a 7-1 run, with Milroy contributing two kills and an ace, giving Geneva a 14-7 lead. The Golden Tornadoes never looked back and closed out the match, 25-14, on kills from Barbato and Spear.
Geneva hit .344 in the match, led by Barbato's 12 kills on an impressive .440 hitting percentage. Spear added 10 kills and Milroy seven for the Golden Tornadoes. Slater had a career-high 17 assists, while junior Curtis Thomas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Christian Heritage Academy) added 15 assists. Barbato led the team with eight digs, while Spear had a team-high five blocks.
In the second match of the day, it was Saint Vincent who jumped out to an early 7-3 lead. Geneva answered right back with five points, with junior Wes Hoge (Venetia, Pa./Seton LaSalle) contributing back-to-back aces in the run. The set stayed close until Geneva went on an 8-2 run to take a 19-14 lead, and a kill from Barbato finished off the set, 25-20. The Golden Tornadoes hit .550 in the set.
Geneva used four straight points early in the second set, with Williams picking up two kills, to take an 8-3 lead. A moment later, a block and a kill from Milroy pushed the Golden Tornado lead to 14-6. Geneva looked to be in good shape, leading 20-13, before the Bearcats scored five straight points to pull within 20-18. A block from Milroy and Thomas, followed by a kill from Hoge, pushed the lead to four points, and then Geneva finished off the set, 25-20, on a double block from Spear and Barbato.
Kills from Barbato and Hoge helped Geneva to an early 3-0 lead in the third set. The Bearcats would briefly take their only lead of the set, 8-7, before kills from Milroy, Hoge and Barbato helped Geneva score five straight points. Saint Vincent stayed close for a while, pulling with two twice, the last time coming at 17-15, but Geneva slowly pulled away for a 25-19 victory, with a Hoge ace finishing off the match.
Barbato again led the team with 14 kills, while Williams added eight and Milroy seven kills. As a team Geneva hit .333. Thomas led the offense with 34 assists and Barbato had a team-high 11 digs. Thomas and Spear each added four blocks.
Geneva has its last regular season home matches of the year on Wednesday when the Golden Tornadoes host Thiel at 6:00 p.m., followed by a match against Carlow at 8:00 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).
