BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's volleyball team got back into the win column on Tuesday night with a sweep of visiting Carlow inside Metheny Fieldhouse, 25-12, 25-16, 25-14. Geneva is now 2-4 on the season.
Geneva grabbed control of the first set from the service line. Junior Andrew Ubinger served the men to seven straight early points in the first set, including three aces, with Ubinger also contributing two kills in the run. A couple minutes later, sophomore Owen Kelley contributed three aces in a five-point run to push Geneva's lead to 14-5. After a Carlow point, sophomore Daniel Spear put together four straight aces following a kill from senior Joshua Sangrey, and the Golden Tornadoes eventually finished off the set with back-to-back kills from Spear, 25-12.
Carlow used a five-point run early in the second set to jump ahead 9-4. Geneva rallied a minute later behind back-to-back aces from Spear, and the men grabbed their first lead of the set, 12-11. After a Carlow point, Geneva followed with a 10-2 run to take control, 22-14, and a kill from Kelley finished off the set, 25-16.
Kills from Spear, Ubinger, junior Evan Puhl and freshman Matthew DeGraaf early in the third set, along with an ace from sophomore Alex Smith, gave Geneva a quick 6-3 lead. Carlow hung close for a few minutes, closing within 11-9, but kills from Ubinger, Puhl and junior Paul O'Donnell helped the Golden Tornadoes take a 17-10 edge. Geneva then closed out the match with six straight points. Ubinger had back-to-back kills, DeGraff strung together three straight kills, and freshman Sho Larrabee finished off the match with an ace, 25-14.
Ubinger led the team with 13 kills on a .370 hitting percentage. Spear added eight kills on a .429 hitting percentage, while Puhl had seven kills on a .313 hitting percentage. As a team Geneva hit .256. Larrabee directed the offense with 28 assists, while adding a team-high nine digs. Geneva totaled 20 aces in the match, led by six each from Ubinger and Spear.
Geneva heads to Roberts Wesleyan on Thursday where the men will play a tri-match, facing Houghton at 3:00 p.m. and Roberts Wesleyan at 5:00 p.m.
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).
