BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team earned two much-needed victories in a home Saturday tri-match, breaking a six-match skid. The Golden Tornadoes rallied for a five-set victory over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) foe Medaille 24-26, 27-29, 25-10, 25-19, 15-11 in the first match of the day. The men had a much easier time against Carlow to finish the day, sweeping the Celtics 25-14, 25-13, 25-19. The wins improved Geneva's record to 5-9 overall, 2-0 in the AMCC.
In the first match of the day against Medaille, early kills from senior Jake Williams and junior Carter Milroy got Geneva off to a great start in the first set, 6-1. The Maverick slowly got back into the set, though, as the Golden Tornado attack could never find a rhythm. Medaille pulled within 14-13, and then after a Geneva point, the Mavericks scored six straight points to take their first lead of the set, 19-15. The Golden Tornadoes rallied back, and after kills from sophomore Decker Milroy and senior Byron Spear, Geneva pulled even at 22-22. The teams alternated two-point runs to get to 24-24, but Medaille finished the set with the final two points to win 26-24.
Geneva used a four-point run early in the second set to jump ahead 10-7, with Williams contributing two kills. The Golden Tornadoes would push their lead to five points two separate times over the next several minutes, the last time at 20-15, but again Geneva faltered late. Medaille responded with a 7-1 run to take a 22-21 lead. Geneva fought off two set points while getting to set point itself, 27-26, on a kill from junior Emerson Spear, but the Mavericks again took the set late, scoring three straight to win 29-27 and put the Golden Tornadoes in a 2-0 hole.
Williams helped Geneva get off to a great start in the third set, using his jump serve to lead the Golden Tornadoes to eight straight points while taking a 10-1 lead. Williams had four aces in the stretch. Medaille never got closer than three points the rest of the set as Geneva easily won 25-10.
The fourth set was close early, with neither team leading by more than two points until Geneva scored four straight on back-to-back kills from Byron Spear and back-to-back aces from Williams to take a 14-10 advantage. Medaille would never get closer than three points, with Williams fittingly finishing off the set with back-to-back aces, 25-19.
The Mavericks used a 6-2 run early in the fifth set to grab a 9-7 midway through the final set. Geneva pulled even with two points, but Medaille answered with two points to pull back ahead, 11-9. However, a kill from Byron Spear started a run of six straight points to finish off the match, all behind the serving of Williams, with Carter Milroy contributing two important kills in the stretch. The closing stretch allowed the Golden Tornadoes to come all the way back from a two-set deficit, winning the final set 15-11.
Byron Spear finished with a career-high 19 kills, on a .333 hitting percentage, in the win. Williams added 14 kills, on a .343 hitting percentage, along with nine aces, one off his own school record for a single match. He narrowly missed a triple-double, finishing with 13 digs. Carter Milroy also reached double digits with 13 kills as the Golden Tornadoes finished with 63 kills on a .261 hitting percentage. Graduate student Curtis Thomas finished with 35 assists, while Spear added 16 digs, one of four players to reach double-digit digs.
Geneva had a much smoother match against Carlow. The men scored seven straight points early in the first set to grab a 9-2 edge, and the Golden Tornadoes cruised to a 25-14 win. The men hit .314 in the set.
The second set followed an almost identical path. Geneva against jumped ahead 9-2 on a six-point run, with Byron Spear picking up two blocks and a kill and freshman Evan Puhl three blocks for the men. The Golden Tornadoes again easily took the set, 25-13, while hitting an even better .471.
Geneva scored the first six points of the third set, eventually building a 17-5 lead. Carlow managed to pull within five points late against Geneva's reserves, but the set was never in doubt as the Golden Tornadoes finished off the match, 25-19.
Byron Spear again led the attack with 13 kills on a .444 hitting percentage. The Golden Tornadoes finished with 36 kills on a .313 hitting percentage. Decker Milroy had a team-high 11 assists, while Puhl had a team-best six blocks.
Geneva will try to make it three straight wins on Tuesday when the Golden Tornadoes host Penn State Altoona at 7:00 p.m. in another AMCC match.
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).
