BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Geneva's men's volleyball team fell to the Thiel College Tomcats today in four sets, 22-25, 25-20, 17-25, 16-25. The two sides played each other very closely through the first two sets before Thiel pulled away early in the third and fourth sets to win the match. The Golden Tornadoes now have a record of 14-14 overall, 3-3 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, while the Tomcats now stand at 11-10 overall, 5-1 in conference play.
The men took a 4-3 lead early in the first set on a beautiful kill by junior Decker Milroy, and then an 8-6 lead just a few points later. Thiel came back to take the lead 13-12, and from that point onward the first set was back-and-forth. Neither team was able to score twice in a row until the Tomcats strung together a small three-point run to go in front 24-21. They would end up winning the first set two plays later, 25-22.
Geneva took a commanding 6-2 lead to start the second set, fueled by back-to-back kills from sophomore Andrew Ubinger. Thiel managed to stay close over the next few points, however, and used a 5-0 run later in the set to snatch the lead, 14-13. The GTs responded with a 4-0 run of their own featuring kills from Ubinger and Decker Milroy, and Geneva won 12 of the last 18 points of the set to take it 25-20.
The Tomcats put together a strong start to the third set, taking the lead 7-3. The men fought to stay close with them for a while, but then a 5-0 Thiel run featuring a couple of service aces put the set virtually out of reach for Geneva, with the Tomcats going in front 19-10. Both sides played evenly from that point onward to end the set, and Thiel won it 25-17.
An ace from senior Carter Milroy gave Geneva a 3-1 advantage early in set four, but the Tomcats quickly turned the tide back in their favor and pushed their lead to 9-4. The Golden Tornadoes fought back to narrow the gap to two points (11-9) on three straight kills from freshman Owen Kelley, but that was the closest Geneva would get for the rest of the match. Thiel took the fourth and final set 25-16, and the overall match three sets to one.
Ubinger led the men offensively, recording a team-high 12 kills. Both Milroy brothers had good matches as well, with Carter posting 10 kills and 17 digs (a team-high) and Decker getting six kills and a team-leading 34 assists.
The Golden Tornadoes travel to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to take on Carlow at 7:00 PM for another AMCC matchup.
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).
