SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – A short-handed Geneva College women's volleyball team dropped its final two matches at the Wittenberg Fall Classic on Saturday.  Facing two of the top teams the Golden Tornadoes will face all year while missing two key starters, the women fell to Mount St. Joseph (18-25, 20-25, 22-25) and Wittenberg (11-25, 15-25, 17-25).  Geneva's record is now 5-7.

In the first match of the day against Mount St. Joseph, Geneva took an early lead in the first set, 4-2, behind two kills from sophomore Megan Veon (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk).  The Lions scored the next five points, though, and the Golden Tornadoes never got closer than one point the rest of the set.  Later, Mount St. Joseph used a four-point run to take a 17-11 lead midway through the set, and the Lions eventually took the set 25-18.

It was Geneva that got off to the better start in the second set.  Two more kills by Veon, a kill from junior Savannah Byers (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) and an ace from junior Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) enabled the Golden Tornadoes to take a 9-4 lead.  However, Mount St. Joseph slowly clawed its way back into the set, eventually tying up the score at 15-15, and the Lions had the better of the play the rest of the set in winning 25-20.

Two early kills by junior Tess Neville (Lisbon, Ohio/Crestview) helped Geneva grab a 4-2 lead in the third set, and the Golden Tornadoes steadily stretched out the early lead to 15-9 after a kill from sophomore Kami Mummau (Mount Joy, Pa./Mount Calvary Christian).  Unfortunately, Geneva could not hold onto the lead.  Mount St. Joseph answered with a 9-2 run to take an 18-17 edge.  The Golden Tornadoes would knot the score at 20-20, but four straight points gave the Lions four match points, and Mount St. Joseph secured the win, 25-22.

Neville led the offense with eight kills on a .412 hitting percentage, while Veon also added eight kills.  As a team, Geneva hit just .074, compared to a .337 mark for the Lions.  Peachey had 12 assists, while freshman Emily Nelson (Kijabe, Kenya/Rift Valley Academy) led the team with 11 digs.

In the second match of the day, Geneva took on an 8-1 Wittenberg squad that is ranked No. 16 in the nation and recently swept No. 11 Otterbein earlier in the week.  The Tigers immediately took control of the first set, jumping out to a 12-2 lead in a set Wittenberg won comfortably, 25-11.  The Tigers hit .524 in the set.

The second set stayed close early, with an ace from freshman Ashley Monroe (Warren, Ohio/Labrae Local) pulling Geneva within 11-10.  The Golden Tornadoes were still within 17-14 when the Tigers scored seven straight points, pulling away to win 25-15.

A kill by Neville and a block from Veon and Mummau gave Geneva an early 3-1 lead in the third set, but Wittenberg answered with a 7-1 run to take an 8-4 lead.  The Golden Tornadoes battled back to even the set at 11-11, and kill from Monroe a moment later pulled Geneva within 14-13.  However, Wittenberg finished the set out well from there, winning 25-17.

Veon led the team offensively with eight kills on a .389 hitting percentage, but the Golden Tornadoes hit just .060 as a team.  In contrast, Wittenberg hit .375.  Monroe had 11 assists, while freshman Heather Seubert (Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity) had a team-high nine digs.

This weekend's games were the last matches against non-conference opponents for Geneva this regular season.  The Golden Tornadoes will play four matches against Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) foes over the next ten days that will not count in the PAC standings, beginning with a road match at Grove City on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.  Geneva's first official PAC match will be Saturday, October 1, at home against Grove City.

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).