HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team split a pair of matches at Juniata on Saturday, falling in straight sets to #11 Juniata (14-25, 9-25, 16-25) while sweeping Chatham (25-20, 32-30, 25-18) in the second match of the day.  Geneva's record now stands at 10-7.
 
The last 24 hours represented a busy stretch for the Golden Tornadoes.  After falling in a tough four-set match on Friday night inside Metheny Fieldhouse to Penn State Behrend, the men got up very early Saturday morning for an over three-hour bus ride to nationally ranked Juniata, and the Golden Tornadoes could never get going in their 11:00 a.m. match against the talented Eagles.
 
After a kill from junior Decker Milroy early in the first set pulled Geneva within 5-4, Juniata scored the next five points and pulled away for a 25-14 win.
 
Sophomore Evan Puhl's kill to open the second set gave the Golden Tornadoes their first lead of the match, but Juniata put together a 12-2 run over the next several minutes and took the set, 25-9.
 
Juniata controlled the third set as well, jumping out to a 15-6 lead on its way to a 25-16 victory to close out the match.
 
Geneva never had an answer for the Juniata attack, with the Eagles finishing with a .500 hitting percentage.  Freshman Owen Kelley had a team-high six kills.
 
The only blessing to the quick first match was it enabled the men to get some extended rest before jumping back into action against future conference foe Chatham, who had taken Geneva to five sets earlier in the year.
 
The Cougars scored the first three points of the match before Geneva rallied.  Trailing 8-5, the Golden Tornadoes scored eight straight points, with senior Carter Milroy contributing two kills and a block in the stretch.  After a Cougar point, Geneva scored three more on kills from Milroy and junior Matthew Thoman, followed by an ace from Kelley, to finish off the 11-1 run.  A double-block from Milroy and Kelley finished off the set, 25-20.
 
Back-to-back kills from Kelley started a 7-1 run to open the second set for Geneva.  Chatham quickly responded with its own 7-1 run, though, to pull even at 8-8.  The set stayed tight for the next several minutes, with neither team able to grab more than a two-point lead until a double-block from Puhl and freshman Peter Samuelsen put the Golden Tornadoes in good shape late, 23-20.  The win wouldn't come easily, though.  Chatham battled back to tie the set at 24-24, and momentum went back-and-forth over the next several points.  Geneva had to fight off three set points before Kelley closed out the set with two straight kills, 32-30.
 
Kelley opened the third set with another kill to give Geneva a lead, which the Golden Tornadoes held until Chatham pulled even and then took its first lead of the set, 13-12.  However, Geneva took control moments later with five straight points to grab a 20-15 edge, and freshman Alex Smith finished off the match with an ace, 25-18.
 
Kelley again led the offense with 12 kills, while Carter Milroy added 10 kills, 10 digs and four blocks.  Puhl had his best match as a Golden Tornado, finishing with eight kills.  Geneva hit .177 as a team, compared to .045 for Chatham.  Decker Milroy directed the offense with 31 assists, while junior Joshua Sangrey finished with a team-high 11 digs. 
 
The men will get some much-needed rest after a very busy opening month of the season.  Geneva will be off until next Saturday when the men travel to Eastern Mennonite for a tri-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).