WOOSTER, Ohio – The Geneva College women's volleyball team got off to a great start against Kalamazoo on Saturday morning in its final match at the Wooster Ginny Hunt Kilt Classic, winning the first two sets, but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't hold off a rally from the Hornets and fell 30-28, 25-17, 18-25, 13-25, 7-15. 

Geneva opened the first set by grabbing a 4-2 lead after a double block from senior Megan Veon and sophomore Katie Seboe.  However, Kalamazoo scored the next six points, forcing Head Coach Wendy Smith to call a timeout.  The Hornets eventually stretched their lead to 15-10 before Geneva rallied.  Another double block from Veon and sophomore Daphne Alexander pulled the women within one point, 17-16.  A moment later, a double block from Alexander and graduate student Savannah Byers, followed by a kill from junior Emily Nelson, pulled Geneva even at 18-18, and after a Kalamazoo point, kills from Byers and Nelson gave the women their first lead since early in the set.  Geneva would eventually get to set point, 24-22, after another kill from Nelson, but the Hornets answered with three straight points to get a set point of their own.  Geneva kept battling, though, and with the set tied at 28-28, kills from Veon and Seboe gave the Golden Tornadoes the win, 30-28.

Geneva carried that momentum into the second set and had one of its best sets all season.  Two early kills from Nelson gave the Golden Tornadoes a 4-2 edge, and then back-to-back kill from Veon, followed by a double block from Veon and Alexander, pushed the advantage to 7-3.  Kills from Veon and Nelson gave Geneva an 11-6 lead before a short rally from the Hornets pulled Kalamazoo within 12-11.  However, Nelson helped turn things back around from the service line.  Two aces kickstarted a ten-point Geneva run, with Veon adding two more kills in the stretch.  A kill from senior Zoe Pifer finished off the set, 25-17.

Things turned around in the third set, though, as the Hornets came out playing the better volleyball.  With Geneva trailing 6-5 early, Kalamazoo scored five straight and eventually stretched the lead to 16-7, and the Hornets finished off the set, 25-18, to get back into the match.

The fourth set followed a similar script.  The two teams stayed close early, but with the score tied at 8-8, Kalamazoo put together an 11-3 run to grab a 19-11 advantage, and the Hornets quickly closed out the set from there, 25-13, to send the match to a fifth set.

Unfortunately, Geneva could never regain momentum in the final set.  With the score tied at 7-7, Kalamazoo scored the final eight points to win 15-7 for the comeback victory.

Veon and Nelson once again led the attack.  Veon finished with 21 kills, while Nelson added 17 kills.  Junior Heather Seubert led the team with 27 digs, while Pifer contributed 23 digs and six kills.  Nelson, 19 digs, and Veon, 11 digs, finished with double-doubles.  Byers finished with a career high 43 assists, while Alexander added a team-high five blocks.  Veon was named to the All-Tournament Team for her play this weekend.

Geneva finally will have a chance to play at home on Tuesday after opening the season with 12 straight road matches.  The women host Mount Aloysius inside Metheny Fieldhouse at 6:30 p.m.