BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's volleyball team did something on Thursday against visiting Westminster that they've struggled to do at times this season: finish off a sweep after winning the first two sets of a match. The Golden Tornadoes did just that against the Titans, though, winning in straight sets 25-21, 25-21, 25-19. In doing so Geneva snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 6-8.
Westminster came into the match struggling, with the Titans, who have won the last three conference championships, holding a record of just 2-9. Westminster lost a lot of talent from last year's squad, and Geneva jumped on the young Titans early in the first set.
Freshman Ashley Monroe (Warren, Ohio/Labrae Local) started off the match with a kill, and after a Titan point, Geneva scored the next four points, with freshman Emily Nelson (Kijabe, Kenya/Rift Valley Academy) contributing back-to-back kills. The Golden Tornadoes pushed their lead to as much as 14-5 after an ace from senior Maggie Townsend (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) before Westminster began to rally. The Titans used an 8-1 run a couple minutes later to pull within 21-20. However, a kill from Nelson and back-to-back kills from Neville restored order, and then Neville finished the set off with another kill to win 25-21.
The second set was much closer. Westminster managed to take a 10-7 lead before Geneva responded with a 5-1 run, with Neville contributing back-to-back aces and senior Hope Shook (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) adding back-to-back kills. The set stayed tight over the next few minutes. However, with Geneva clinging to a 21-20 lead, the Golden Tornadoes found a way to finish. Shook provided the next three Geneva points on kills, and then junior Samantha Peachey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) finished the set off, 25-21, with an ace.
Geneva jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third set, with Neville contributing a block and an ace. Geneva still led 12-7 after an ace from Townsend before the Titans scored the next six points to take their first lead of the set, 13-12. The Golden Tornadoes had a quick answer, though. After the two teams traded points, Geneva reeled off seven straight points. Sophomore Megan Veon (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) had two kills, Nelson contributed a kill, and Neville continued her tough serving with three more aces. Geneva cruised from there, finishing off the match on a kill from junior Savannah Byers (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley), 25-19.
Nelson led the offense with a career-high 12 kills on a .308 hitting percentage, along with nine digs and two aces. Neville also had a very strong night, contributing six kills, on a .313 hitting percentage, along with a career-high eight aces. As a team Geneva hit .231. Townsend led the team with 14 digs, while Monroe and Peachey finished with 17 and 14 assists, respectively. The Golden Tornadoes finished the match with 18 aces.
"I've been preaching to the team that we have to minimize errors, and I thought we were better at that tonight," said Head Coach Wendy Smith. "We still had a few lapses, but overall I thought our hitters made good decision. Our serving was big tonight. We had a lot of errors, but we got a lot of points off of our service, not just on our aces, but also getting them out of system. Emily and Tess played really well, especially."
Next up for the women is a home match on Saturday with Allegheny, beginning at 12:00 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).
