ERIE, Pa. – The start of the season has been a challenge for the Geneva College women's volleyball team, but the Golden Tornadoes finally broke through on Saturday at the Penn State Behrend Invitational with two victories.  Geneva opened the day with a 27-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-18 win over Fredonia.  The Golden Tornadoes then had to go to five sets, it's third five-set match in less than 24 hours, to defeat Houghton 25-23, 25-21, 19-25, 26-28, 15-13.  In total, Geneva played four times over the past day, totaling 19 sets in its four matches, making for a tiring weekend.
 
In the first match of the day against Fredonia, back-to-back kills from junior Abigail Glumac helped Geneva grab an early 5-2 advantage.  A couple minutes later, a kill from senior Megan Veon kept the Golden Tornado lead at three points, 8-5, before Fredonia rallied, scoring four straight points.  Geneva responded with a run, getting kills from Veon and sophomore Katie Seboe, to retake the lead, 14-12.  However, the Blue Devils again put together a four-point run to take the lead back, and Fredonia led for the next several minutes, eventually getting to set point, 24-21.  Geneva had one last rally, though.  Kills from Glumac and sophomore Daphne Alexander got the women started on a four-point run, and after Fredonia pulled even at 25-25, two Blue Devil errors gave Geneva the set, 27-25.
 
Geneva again jumped ahead early in set two, 5-2, with Fredonia helping the Golden Tornadoes out with four early errors.  The Blue Devils pulled within 7-6 before Geneva pulled away.  A kill from Veon started a 10-3 run from the women, giving the Golden Tornadoes a commanding 17-9 edge.  Seboe and Veon each had multiple kills in the run, while Alexander had a kill and a block.  Fredonia would never get closer than four points before Veon finished off the set with a kill, 25-16.
 
The women again jumped out early in the third set.  A kill from Veon kick-started a four-point run to give the Golden Tornadoes a quick 4-1 advantage.  A couple minutes later, a kill from Glumac kept the advantage at three, 8-5, before Fredonia put together a rally.  The Blue Devils answered with an 8-1 run to grab a 13-9 edge, forcing Head Coach Wendy Smith to call a timeout.  Six of those points came on Geneva errors.  The Golden Tornadoes would answer back behind the attack and block of Alexander and Veon, pulling back ahead 22-20 with a chance to close out the match.  However, Fredonia closed better, finishing the set on a 5-1 run to win 25-23.
 
For the fourth time in four sets, Geneva took another early lead, 5-2.  A couple minutes later, an ace from senior Kennedi Stockey and a block from Alexander extended the edge to 11-5, forcing Fredonia to call a timeout.  Geneva eventually stretched its lead to 14-6 on a kill from Veon before a rash of Golden Tornado errors allowed the Blue Devils to pull within 15-12.  However, Geneva wouldn't be denied its first win of the season.  Stockey added three straight aces late in the set to get the women to match point, 24-16, and after two Blue Devil points, junior Heather Seubert finished the match off with a kill, 25-18.
 
Veon continued her strong recent play with a team-high 16 kills.  Alexander added nine kills and a team-high six blocks.  Seboe and Glumac each contributed seven kills.  Graduate student Savannah Byers totaled 17 assists, while freshman setter Laura Goonewardene chipped in with 15 assists in the two-setter attack.  Seubert had a team-high 14 digs, senior Zoe Pifer added 13 digs, and Stockey also reached double-digit digs with 11, to go with her team-high four aces.
 
Geneva turned right around to face Houghton in its second match of the day, and Highlanders scored the first three points of the match before a Veon kill got the Golden Tornadoes on the board.  Houghton pushed its lead to 8-4 before Geneva responded with an 8-1 run, with graduate student Destiny Pratt contributing two kills and junior Emily Nelson a third kill.  The set stayed close the rest of the way, with the teams deadlocked multiple times over the final few minutes, the last time at 23-23.  Veon and Pratt finished the set with back-to-back kills, though, to give the women the opening set victory, 25-23.
 
Houghton once again pulled out to an early lead in set two, this time 8-5.  An ace from Alexander and a double block from Veon and sophomore Gracyn Lee helped the Golden Tornadoes pull even at 8-8, and the scored stayed within one point until back-to-back kills from Nelson, followed by a kill from Lee, gave Geneva a 16-12 edge.  Houghton never got closer than three points the rest of the set, and Nelson finished things off with a kill, 25-21.
 
Geneva jumped ahead early in the third set, 6-3, behind a kill from Alexander, and the Golden Tornadoes looked primed for a sweep as they led by as much as 13-9 on a kill from Nelson, but Houghton rebounded.  The Highlanders scored seven straight after Nelson's kill, and Geneva could never recover in losing 25-19.
 
Once again Geneva led for much of the early part of the fourth set, with an ace from Nelson giving the Golden Tornadoes a 13-10 edge.  However, the Highlanders responded with a 9-3 run to grab a 19-16 lead.  Geneva battled back to grab a 22-20 advantage, but Houghton scored the next four points.  A kill and an ace from Nelson pulled the women level, but the Highlanders were able to hold on for a 28-26 win to send the match to a fifth set.
 
Pifer led off the fifth set with an ace, and multiple Highlander hitting errors gave Geneva a big early lead, 6-1.  Things wouldn't come easily, though.  Houghton eventually battled back to tie the score at 9-9.  Two kills from Veon and a kill from Pratt gave Geneva a little bit of a margin, but it wasn't until a kill from Nelson on match point that the Golden Tornadoes were able to finish off the Highlanders, 15-13.
 
Nelson led the attack with a career-high 20 kills, while Veon added 13 kills, 11 digs and five blocks.  Pratt chipped in with nine kills.  Goonewardene, 22 assists, and Byers, 18 assists, again directed the attack.  Seubert totaled a season-high 26 digs, while Lee tied Veon with five blocks.
 
The Golden Tornadoes will now return home and prepare for a match at Penn State Altoona on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
 

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