ERIE, Pa. – It was a frustrating day for the Geneva College women's volleyball team on the final day of the Behrend Invitational on Saturday.  The Golden Tornadoes again saw both of their matches go to five sets, but Geneva was unable to capture either one of them.  The women lost to Penn State Behrend 13-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-15, 9-15, and then after racing out to a two-set lead against Oswego State, the Golden Tornadoes lost 25-12, 30-28, 23-25, 17-25, 11-15, dropping to 4-4 on the season.

Behrend got off to a strong start in the opening set of the first match of the day.  After senior Hope Shook (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) opened the match with a kill, the Lions scored eight straight points, and Geneva never got closer than four points the rest of the set, falling 25-13.

The second set was a much more competitive set, with each team trading the lead early on.  Midway through the set, Shook contributed two kills in a three-point run to give the Golden Tornadoes a 16-14 lead.  Behrend answered back with a run to give the Lions a 23-20 edge.  However, Geneva scored the last five points of the set, with sophomore Megan Veon (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) contributing back-to-back kills and adding a block, to give the Golden Tornadoes the set, 25-23, and even up the match.

The third set was close until Behrend scored four straight to take an 11-7 advantage.  The Lions continued to extend their lead, getting to 24-15, before Geneva had a late run.  The Golden Tornadoes scored eight straight points to pull within 24-23, but Behrend managed to hold on for a 25-23 victory with a kill.

Despite losing the third set, the late run seemed to energize Geneva going into the fourth set.  Kills from sophomore Kami Mummau (Mount Joy, Pa./Mount Calvary Christian) and junior Savannah Byers (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley), along with an ace from senior Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian), gave the Golden Tornadoes an early 4-2 lead.  A moment later, five straight Geneva points pushed the Golden Tornado lead to 11-4.  Behrend would pull within 12-9, but Mummau picked up two kills in a five-point run, and Geneva cruised the rest of the set for a 25-15 win, sending the match to a fifth set.

Behrend jumped ahead 7-2 in the final set, though.  Geneva pulled within 7-6, but Behrend pulled away to win the set, and the match, 15-9.

Mummau led the offense with a season-best 13 kills.  Shook added 12 kills, while Veon finished with 11 kills in another balanced attack.  Freshman Ashley Monroe (Warren, Ohio/Labrae Local) had a team-high 20 assists, adding a team-best 23 digs, while junior Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) added 18 assists.  Townsend finished with 22 digs, and freshman Emily Nelson (Ellsworth, Wisc./Rift Valley Academy) chipped in with 19 digs.

Geneva took on Oswego State in the second match of the day, and with the score tied 3-3 early in the first set, the Golden Tornadoes went on a 5-1 run, with Nelson contributing two kills and Veon a kill and an ace in the run.  Geneva put the set away a few minutes later, going on a 11-1 run, with Veon adding four more kills, to extend the Geneva lead to 22-9, eventually winning 25-12.

The second set proved much more challenging.  Neither team led by more than two points until Oswego scored three straight to take a 20-16 lead.  A moment later, though, Geneva scored five straight, with Mummau adding two more kills, to give the Golden Tornadoes a 24-22 edge.  Oswego scored the next three points to get set point, and the team alternated points over the next few minutes until two kills and a block by Veon gave Geneva a 30-28 victory.

The Golden Tornadoes jumped ahead early in the third set, 6-2, behind kills from Veon, Shook and Monroe, and Geneva was in great shape for the sweep when the women stretched their lead to 18-10.  Unfortunately, things began to fall apart for the Golden Tornadoes.  Oswego surged back, finishing the set on a 15-5 run to take the set, 25-23, and push the match to a fourth set.

Geneva continued to struggle in the fourth set.  Oswego scored the first six points, and after Geneva pulled within two, 8-6, five more points built the Oswego lead to 13-6, and the Golden Tornadoes never recovered.  The Lakers won the set 25-17.

The women just could never recover the momentum lost in the third set, and Oswego led the whole fifth set, scoring the first three points.  Geneva got within one, 6-5, but the Lakers finished off the comeback victory with a 15-11 win.

Veon again led the offense, finishing with 19 kills on a .472 hitting percentage, while also contributing five blocks.  Nelson added nine kills, along with five aces, as Geneva hit .204 in the match.  Monroe led the team with 17 assists, while Townsend finished with 22 digs.

"This was a pretty frustrating day," said Head Coach Wendy Smith.  "We put ourselves in position to win two matches against quality teams, but we didn't play well enough at key times to close out the victories.  We have to find more consistency if we want to take the next step.  There are moments where we play really well, and then moments when we struggle.  Megan played very well again today, but we didn't get enough consistency from others around her." 

Geneva will finally get a chance to play at home this week when the Golden Tornadoes welcome Mount Aloysius on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. matchup.

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).