BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team traveled to Medaille College for a tri-match on Saturday afternoon, and after sweeping Mount Aloysius to open the day 25-14, 25-22, 25-13, the Golden Tornadoes suffered a tough five-set loss to Medaille 27-29, 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 10-15. Geneva is now 17-12 overall, 11-3 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC).
The first match of the day against first-year program Mount Aloysius gave Geneva a chance to give a number of reserves extended playing time, and the Golden Tornadoes cruised in the first set to a 25-14 win.
The second set was the only close set of the match. The whole set was tight, with the teams exchanging the lead multiple times. With the set tied at 22-22, Geneva scored the final three points, with sophomore Emerson Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) finishing off the set with a kill, 25-22.
Geneva made quick work of the third set, jumping out to a big early lead and easily closing out the match, 25-13.
Junior Byron Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) led the team with 12 kills, while senior Peter Barbato added (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) seven kills, with the team hitting .256. Freshman Decker Milroy (Colorado Springs, Colo./TCA College Pathways) directed the offense with 16 assists, while junior Jake Williams (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) had a team-high 12 digs.
The second match against Medaille proved much more of challenge, as the contest was close throughout all five sets. The Mavericks took a short three-point lead, 15-12, midway through the first set, but Geneva scored three straight points to pull even. The Golden Tornadoes had two set points later in the set, 25-24 and 26-25, after kills from Byron Spear and Jake Williams, but Medaille closed the set on a 4-1 run to win 29-27.
Two aces from Williams and kills from Barbato and sophomore Carter Milroy (Colorado Springs, Colo./TCA College Pathways) gave Geneva a 13-8 lead midway through the second set, but Medaille scored six straight points to regain a 14-13 edge. Later in the set the Mavericks took a 21-18 advantage before the Golden Tornadoes closed the set well. A kill from Milroy and an ace from Williams helped pull Geneva level, and after two Maverick points, the Golden Tornadoes scored the final four points, the last on a kill from Barbato, to win 25-23.
As the was the case all match, the third set was tight as well. Neither team could gain much of an edge until a 4-1 run by Geneva gave the Golden Tornadoes a 20-16 lead. The Mavericks would pull within 23-22, but back-to-back kills from Williams and Barbato gave Geneva a 25-22 win.
Medaille jumped ahead 10-5 in the fourth set, but Geneva battled back to tie the score at 13-13 after back-to-back kills from Spear and a kill from Williams. The Golden Tornadoes would pull ahead 18-16 after an ace from Spear, but the Mavericks were the better team late. With the score tied 21-21, Medaille finished the set on a 4-1 run to win 25-22, forcing the match to a fifth set.
The Mavericks scored five straight points early in the final set to take an 8-4 lead, and Geneva could never catch back up, eventually losing the fifth set, 15-10.
Barbato led the team with 22 kills, while Williams added 13 kills and Byron Spear 11 kills. Geneva hit .177 in the match. Junior Curtis Thomas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Christian Heritage Academy) led the offense with 45 assists. Barbato had 19 digs and Williams 14 digs, while Emerson Spear had a team-high six blocks.
Medaille hit .226 as a team and was led by Malachi Jackson's 20 kills.
The loss is damaging to Geneva's chances to finish as the top team in the AMCC, with the Golden Tornadoes now two games behind first-place Penn State Behrend with just one week left in the regular season. Geneva has two non-conference matches this week against Alderson Broaddus on Tuesday and Mount Union on Thursday, before wrapping up the regular season with a road tri-match against Penn State Behrend and Penn State Altoona on Saturday.
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).
