ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team split its Saturday matches on the final day of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Invitational, securing third place at the event, Geneva's best finish in four trips to the tournament.  The men opened the day by falling to NCAA Division II Roberts Wesleyan 11-25, 18-25, 25-11, 21-25, but they then rebounded in the third-place match to defeat Carolina 26-24, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22.  Geneva's record now stands at 7-3 overall.
 
The first match of the day against Roberts Wesleyan started well as Geneva jumped ahead 6-1, with freshman Owen Kelley picking up an early kill and an ace.  However, things quickly turned around, as Geneva struggled to serve well and receive well.  The Redhawks responded with seven straight points and never let up, finishing the set on a 24-5 run to win 25-11.
 
Two early kills from senior Carter Milroy helped Geneva jump ahead early in the second set as well, this time 9-6.  Once again, Roberts Wesleyan responded with a run, this one 9-3, to grab a 15-12 lead.  The Golden Tornadoes pulled within 17-16 on a solo block from freshman Daniel Spear, but the Redhawks pulled away for a 25-18 win.
 
Geneva dominated the third set.  Leading 7-6 early, the Golden Tornadoes strung together a 10-1 run to take a 17-7 lead.  Geneva finished the set with six straight points, the last on a kill from sophomore Andrew Ubinger, to win 25-11.
 
The fourth set was the closest of the match.  Neither team could gain much of a lead.  The Redhawks did manage a 16-13 advantage midway through the set, but Geneva answered with a 5-1 run to take an 18-17 edge.  However, the tape proved unkind late.  With the score tied at 21-21, Geneva's serve hit the tape and didn't fall over, and then Roberts Wesleyan's following serve hit the tape and fell over, and the Redhawks went on to win the match, 25-21.
 
Ubinger led the team with 11 kills, while Milroy added nine kills.  Geneva hit .168 as a team.  Junior Decker Milroy finished with 22 assists, while junior Joshua Sangrey led the team with 11 digs.  Spear had a team-best seven blocks.  Roberts Wesleyan hit .204 as a team.
 
The loss dropped Geneva into the third-place match against a Carolina squad the Golden Tornadoes defeated in five sets on Friday, and Saturday's match was just as tight. 
 
Geneva scored four straight early in the first set to grab a 7-4 lead, but the Bruins used a four-point run midway through the set to take an 18-16 advantage.  Carolina looked to be in great shape when the Bruins extended their edge to 23-19, but the Golden Tornadoes refused to quit.  The men scored the next four points, three on Kelley kills, to pull even.  Carolina scored the next point to get to set point, but Geneva finished with three straight points to come from behind for the 26-24 win.
 
Carolina opened the second set with four straight points, but a kill and a block from Ubinger a few minutes later helped give Geneva its first lead, 8-6.  The Bruins responded with a run, and Carolina eventually stretched its lead to 20-17 late.  Once again, though, Geneva finished well.  A kill from Spear kicked off an 8-1 run to close the set, and Geneva finished the set with another kill from Kelley and double-blocks from Spear and freshman Peter Samuelsen, followed by one from Spear and Kelley, to win 25-21.
 
Decker Milroy served back-to-back aces to help Geneva grab the first three points of the third set, but Carolina answered with a 7-2 run to take the lead.  The Bruins pushed their lead to 14-10 before five straight Geneva points gave the Golden Tornadoes the lead back, 15-14.  The set stayed tight the rest of the way, but with the score tied at 21-21, the Bruins came up with the points late to win 25-23.
 
Geneva opened the fourth set with three straight points behind an ace from freshman Alex Smith and back-to-back kills from Kelley.  However, just as in the third set, Carolina responded with a 7-2 run to take its first lead.  The Bruins led for much of the rest of the set before Geneva rallied late.  Trailing 19-17, the Golden Tornadoes scored three straight to take their first lead since early in the set.  A kill from Carolina evened the set at 22-22, but Geneva scored the final three points of the match.  A kill from Spear, a double-block from Samuelsen and Carter Milroy, and a kill from Kelley gave Geneva the victory, 25-22.
 
Kelley led the offense with a season-best 15 kills, while Ubinger added 10 kills, to go along with 11 digs.  Geneva hit .143 as a team, compared to .140 for Carolina.  Geneva's block was again huge, finishing with 16 total blocks compared to just five for the Bruins.  Carter Milroy led the team with eight blocks, sophomore Evan Puhl finished with seven blocks, while Spear added six more to his growing total.  Decker Milroy directed the offense with 28 assists, while Sangrey led the team with 18 digs.
 
The men will enjoy a couple days of rest after back-to-back very busy weekends before returning to action next Thursday for a match at Thiel.


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).