HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team dropped both matches on the final day of the Juniata Invitational on Saturday. The Golden Tornadoes dropped the first match of the day to #3 Messiah 25-19, 28-26, 25-18, then closed out the weekend by falling to Stevenson 25-20, 25-13, 25-14. Geneva dropped to 3-9 on the season.
In the first match of the day against Messiah, Geneva stayed tight in the first set, as the teams traded the lead multiple times early. A kill from freshman Evan Puhl pulled the Golden Tornadoes within 14-13, but Messiah steadily pulled away the remainder of the set, winning 25-19.
The second set was the most competitive of the match. A kill by senior Byron Spear gave Geneva an early 6-2 advantage. Messiah pulled even at 8-8, but the Golden Tornadoes used a kill and a block from junior Carter Milroy to gain an 13-11 edge. The Falcons responded with six straight points, though, to take their first lead of the set, 17-13. Geneva answered with a 6-2 run to pull even at 19-19. Neither team led by more than two points the rest of the set. The Golden Tornadoes gained their only set point, 26-25, on a kill from Spear, but Messiah scored the last three points to win 28-26.
Geneva again played evenly with the nationally ranked Falcons early in the third set. Kills from freshman Andrew Ubinger, Byron and Emerson Spear and senior Jake Williams helped the Golden Tornadoes grab a 9-7 lead. Geneva still led 14-13 before Messiah put together an 8-1 run to retake a lead, 21-15, and the Golden Tornadoes could not recover before falling 25-18.
Byron Spear led the team with eight kills, with Geneva finishing with 21 kills and a .154 hitting percentage. Messiah countered with 44 kills on a .373 hitting percentage. Graduate student Curtis Thomas led the team with 12 assists.
Things didn't improve much in the second match of the day against Stevenson. The first set was close early before the Mustangs went on a 14-5 run to take a 21-12 lead, which enabled Stevenson to win 25-20.
Stevenson took control of the final two sets early, jumping ahead 11-4 in the second set and 15-6 in the third, and the Mustangs won those sets by scores of 25-13 and 25-14.
Spear again led the team with nine kills, but Geneva finished with a negative .034 hitting percentage, with just 22 kills and 25 errors. Stevenson hit .299 as a team.
The schedule Geneva has faced over the first three weeks of the season has been one of the tougher in the nation, and the Golden Tornadoes will now turn their attention more fully to conference play, hopefully more prepared by the tough early non-conference matches. The men will be back in action next Saturday when they host a tri-match with Medaille and Carlow.
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