PHILIPPI, W.Va. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team rallied from a two-set deficit at Alderson Broaddus on Tuesday night, but the Golden Tornadoes eventually succumbed after a long fifth set 16-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 21-23. Geneva's record now stands at 17-13 overall.
Geneva had a tough time getting going. Alderson Broaddus easily took the first set, and after Geneva battled back to a 16-16 tie in the second set, the Battlers scored five straight and eventually took that set as well, 25-19, putting the Golden Tornadoes in a big hole.
Back-to-back kills from senior Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) helped Geneva take a 4-1 lead in the third set. The Golden Tornadoes would hold that lead for most of the set until Alderson Broaddus rallied to take an 18-17 advantage. The lead went back and forth before Geneva, trailing 22-21, finished the set on a 4-1 to win 25-23.
Geneva led early in the fourth set before a 6-1 run by Alderson Broaddus gave the Battlers a 14-11 advantage. The Golden Tornadoes still trailed 18-15 before a 5-1 Geneva run gave the Golden Tornadoes the lead back, 20-19. The Battlers scored the next two points before Geneva answered with four straight points, and then Barbato finished off the set with a block, 25-22, sending the match to a fifth set.
Alderson Broaddus led most of the first part of the final set, eventually stretching its lead to 10-7. Geneva would rally though, with kills from juniors Byron Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Jake Williams (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) giving the Golden Tornadoes match point, 14-13. However, Geneva could never find the winning point. In fact, the Golden Tornadoes had four more match points over the next few minutes, the last coming at 20-19 after a kill from Barbato, but Alderson Broaddus finished the match on a 4-1 run to win a long fifth set, 23-21.
Barbato led the offense with 24 kills, while Spear finished with a career-high 18 kills on a .359 hitting percentage. The Golden Tornadoes hit .185 as a team. Junior Curtis Thomas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Christian Heritage Academy) led the offense with 43 assists, while freshman Joshua Sangrey (Landisburg, Pa./Homeschool) led the team with 16 digs.
Alderson Broaddus hit .171 as a team, but the Battlers finished with nine more kills than Geneva.
The tough final week of the regular season continues with a road game at Mount Union on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Geneva then finishes up the regular season on Saturday with a road tri-match at Penn State Altoona against two of the top teams in the conference in Penn State Behrend and Penn State Altoona.
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).
