BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's volleyball team tried to rally back from a two-set deficit to Saint Vincent in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener for both teams on Wednesday night inside Metheny Fieldhouse, playing some inspired volleyball to win the third and four sets, but the Bearcats ultimately prevailed in five sets 25-18, 25-20, 13-25, 20-25, 15-11. Both teams now sport 7-7 overall records after the entertaining and highly-competitive match.
The first set was close early, with back-to-back aces from senior Tess Neville giving the women a brief 9-8 lead. However, with the set tied 12-12, Saint Vincent put together a 9-2 run to take command of the set, and the Bearcats took the first set 25-18. Geneva hit just .026 in the set, while Saint Vincent hit .250.
The Golden Tornadoes jumped ahead in set two, 8-4, after a kill from junior Kami Mummau. A couple minutes later, kills from Mummau and junior Megan Veon, along with an ace from senior Samantha Peachey, pushed the Geneva lead to 15-10. However, Saint Vincent controlled the rest of the set. The Bearcats pulled even at 18-18 while finishing the set on a 15-5 run to win 25-20. Saint Vincent hit .382 in that set.
Saint Vincent continued that momentum into the third set, grabbing an early 7-3 edge. A double block from Peachey and freshman Julia Jordon began a four-point Geneva run, finished off by kills from Mummau and freshman Katie Seboe. A moment later, an ace from Peachey gave the women their first lead of the set, 9-8. After the Bearcats answered with a point, kills from Veon, Mummau and Seboe gave Geneva a lead it would never give back. Saint Vincent did pull within 14-13, but the Golden Tornadoes answered with the final 11 points of the set. The women got two kills and two blocks from Peachey and back-to-back aces from freshman Emily Nelson in the stretch, easily winning the set, 25-13.
The run did not continue into the fourth set, though, as the Bearcats scored the first six points, forcing Head Coach Wendy Smith to use an early timeout. Whatever she said seemed to work, because a few minutes later, a kill from freshman Maddie Hall and a double block from Seboe and Mummau helped Geneva grab an 11-10 edge. The Bearcats responded with a run to pull back ahead, 17-14, before the women put together one of the best stretches they've had all year. Geneva scored the next six points, with almost every point containing tremendous digs by the women to save what appeared to be certain Bearcat kills. Mummau and Jordon finished the run off with kills. Four points later, kills from Seboe and Mummau pushed the edge to 23-18, and the duo eventually finished off the set with two more kills, 25-20.
Geneva looked to be in great shape, riding all the momentum while grabbing an early 3-1 lead in the fifth set after back-to-back aces from Mummau, but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't sustain things. The Bearcats responded with a 4-1 run to grab the lead, and Geneva could never regain control. The women did manage to pull even at 6-6 on a kill from Jordon, but Saint Vincent responded with a 7-2 run to take a 13-8 lead, and the Golden Tornadoes couldn't recover in dropping the match, 15-11.
Mummau led the team with 15 kills, while Veon added 12 kills. Geneva actually finished with a 55-43 edge in kills, but too many errors ultimately doomed the women. The Golden Tornadoes had 30 attack errors and 14 service errors, which proved too much to overcome. As a team the women hit .133, compared to .143 for the Bearcats. Peachey led the team with 40 assists, while junior Zoe Pifer contributed a career-high 34 digs. Jordon provided a big spark with seven blocks.
The women will try to rebound on Friday when they host Franciscan at 6:00 p.m.
Through purposeful learning in a community reflecting the full spectrum of God's kingdom, a Geneva College experience inspires students to discover a faith-life calling in service to God and neighbor. Offering 195+ traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality and affordability. 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 the International Association for Christian Education (IACE).
