BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team added two more wins to its record on Wednesday night. The Golden Tornadoes picked up a hard-fought Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) victory over Thiel in the first match of the day 22-25, 25-22, 25-22, 31-29 to begin the night. Geneva then defeated Carlow in straight sets 25-14, 25-11, 25-19. The victories improved Geneva's record to 16-11 overall, 10-2 in the AMCC.
In the first match, Thiel scored four straight points early in the first set to take a 4-1 lead. A few minutes later, Geneva responded with four straight points, with junior Curtis Thomas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Christian Heritage Academy) picking up a couple blocks to give Geneva the lead back, 8-7. However, the Tomcats answered with six straight points to give Thiel a 13-8 lead. The Golden Tornadoes would pull within three, 18-15, before the Tomcats strung together four straight points to lead 22-15. A late Geneva run wasn't enough as Thiel held on for a 25-22 win.
The Golden Tornadoes took the early lead in the second set, with juniors Byron Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Jake Williams (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) contributing two kills each in helping Geneva to a 7-3 advantage. Thiel closed within 10-9, but kills from Williams and Spear were part of a four-point run to give the Golden Tornadoes a 14-9 edge. The Tomcats answered with four points of their own to pull within 14-13, and Thiel eventually pulled even at 17-17. Back-to-back kills from sophomore Carter Milroy (Colorado Springs, Colo./TCA College Pathways) gave Geneva the lead for good. Kills from senior Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) and Williams brought Geneva to set point, and Spear finished off the set with a kill, 25-22.
The Golden Tornadoes opened the third set with kills from Barbato and Spear. However, a four-point Tomcat run gave Thiel its first lead at 6-5. The set stayed tight over the next several minutes, with the teams trading leads back and forth until Geneva scored three straight to take a 17-15 lead. Barbato had a kill and Williams an ace in the run. The Tomcats would pull even again, though, at 20-20, before the Golden Tornadoes closed well. Kills from Williams and Milroy, along with a double block from Spear and Milroy, gave Geneva a 23-20 lead, and after Thiel pulled within one point, Milroy and sophomore Emerson Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) finished off the set with kills, 25-22.
Thomas opened the fourth set with an ace, and the teams exchanged points over the next several minutes. Neither team led by more than one point until Geneva scored three straight on a kill from Emerson Spear and back-to-back kills from Milroy, giving the Golden Tornadoes an 11-9 lead. A moment later, back-to-back kills from Barbato and Milroy extended the Geneva advantage to 16-11. The Tomcats responded with a run to pull within 17-16, but an ace from Barbato and kills from Byron Spear and Williams put the Golden Tornadoes in good shape, ahead 23-19. However, Thiel had a response in the form of five straight points to get to set point, 24-23. A kill from Milroy and an ace from Williams gave Geneva match point, but the Tomcats responded with two points to get back to set point. Thiel had three more set points over the next few minutes, but Geneva never gave in. Trailing 29-28, a kill from Byron Spear and back-to-back aces from Emerson Spear finished off the match, 31-29. The Golden Tornadoes won despite being outhit .314 to .196 in the set.
Geneva got a very balanced attack in the win. Barbato had 17 kills, Byron Spear 15 kills and Milroy 14 kills in the victory, with the team hitting .204. Thomas directed the offense with 47 assists, Byron Spear had a team-high 13 digs, while Milroy led the defense with four blocks. Thiel hit .205 and was led by Zac Smith's 18 kills.
In the second match of the evening, Geneva took on a Carlow squad that is in just its second season of varsity competition, with the Celtics having played just four matches this season. It provided an opportunity for Head Coach Curt Conser to give a number of his reserves extended playing time.
The Golden Tornadoes led comfortably in all three sets, with the outcome never in doubt. Junior Devin Goodgasell (Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong) led Geneva with a career-high 10 kills, with 11 different players picking up at least one kill. Geneva hit .370 as a team. Senior Matthew Slater (Butler, Pa./Butler) had 17 assists and seven digs, while Emerson Spear led the team with five blocks.
The Golden Tornadoes will head out onto the road on Saturday for a tri-match at Medaille against Mount Aloysius and Medaille. In fact, Geneva's last six matches of the regular season are all on the road.
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).
