ALTOONA, Pa. – The Geneva College men's volleyball locked up the second seed for the upcoming Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) playoffs on Saturday at a tri-match at Penn State Altoona, finishing the regular season with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-13) sweep of Penn State Behrend and a 3-1 (25-15, 16-25, 26-24, 27-25) win over Penn State Altoona. Geneva's record is now 19-14 overall, 13-3 in the AMCC.
Geneva went into Saturday's tri-match with an outside chance of finishing first in the regular season standings. The Golden Tornadoes not only needed to win both of their matches, they also needed Altoona to defeat Behrend in the first match of the tri-match. When Behrend defeated Altoona, it locked up first place for Behrend. That meant Geneva needed to win both of Saturday's matches to finish in second, with a loss potentially dropping the Golden Tornadoes down to fourth place.
The first set of the first match of the day against Behrend was tight early on before the Lions went on a run to take an 18-14 lead. Geneva immediately rallied, though, using a 7-2 run to take a 21-20 lead. Behrend responded with a run to take a 24-22 lead, but Geneva wouldn't give in. Two kills from junior Byron Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills), a kill from senior Peter Barbato (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian), and a double block from Spear and junior Curtis Thomas (Arlington Heights, Ill./Christian Heritage Academy) allowed Geneva to come from behind for a 26-24 win.
Behrend jumped ahead in the second set, taking a 10-7 lead. The Lions still led 15-13 before Geneva went on a big run. The Golden Tornadoes scored seven of the next eight points, including three blocks and a kill from sophomore Carter Milroy (Colorado Springs, Colo./TCA College Pathways), to give Geneva a 20-16 edge. Geneva closed out the set, 25-19.
Geneva led most of the way in the third set. A 7-2 run gave the Golden Tornadoes an 11-6 lead. Geneva scored six straight points later in the set, with Barbato contributing back-to-back aces and junior Jake Williams (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) two kills, giving Geneva a 20-10 advantage, and the Golden Tornadoes coasted from there to a 25-13 win to sweep the match.
Spear and Williams led the way with nine kills, while sophomore Emerson Spear (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) added eight kills on a .583 hitting percentage. As a team Geneva hit .277. Barbato added six kills and 10 digs, while Milroy had six kills and four blocks. Thomas finished with 34 assists.
Geneva then took on Altoona, with the winner securing the second seed and a bye in the first round of the AMCC playoffs.
Geneva jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first set, and Altoona was never able to make a run. A six-point run by the Golden Tornadoes, with Byron Spear contributing two blocks and a kill, gave Geneva a 22-10 lead, and the Golden Tornadoes closed out the set 25-15.
Geneva scored the first four point of the second set and still led 7-4 after a kill from Emerson Spear when Altoona reeled off five straight points. That began a 13-3 Altoona run to give the Lions a 17-10 edge, and Altoona finished off the set, 25-16.
The third set was tight the whole way. Geneva scored three straight points midway through the set to take an 18-15 lead, but Altoona fought back to get to set point, 24-23. However, a kill from Williams and two Altoona errors gave Geneva the set, 26-24.
Altoona jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the fourth set before Geneva rallied behind three straight kills from Barbato to take a 10-9 lead. Four straight Golden Tornado points a few minutes later gave Geneva a 17-14 lead. However, the Lions answered back with a run, getting all the way to set point again, 24-22. Geneva had another answer. Two Golden Tornado points pulled Geneva level, and after an Altoona point, a kill from Thomas, a block from Barbato and a double block from Thomas and Byron Spear gave Geneva the set, and the match, 27-25.
Barbato had a huge match, finishing with 20 kills on a .444 hitting percentage, along with 19 digs. Byron Spear added nine kills, along with five blocks, as Geneva hit .230 as a team. Thomas directed the offense with 38 assists.
The victory gives Geneva a bye in Tuesday's quarterfinals. Penn State Behrend, as the top seed, hosts both the semifinals and the championship match, with the Golden Tornadoes slated to play the winner of the Hiram and Medaille quarterfinal match on Friday at 8:30 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).
