HIRAM, Ohio – Geneva men's volleyball went up against a Hiram squad that had not lost a conference match yet this season on Friday, and they fell in three sets despite a balanced offensive attack. The men have now made it through the first half of Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play, and they have an 8-10 record overall, 3-3 in the PAC. Hiram, on the flip side, moves up to 9-5 overall, and it remains undefeated with a 4-0 record in PAC play.
A kill by junior
Andrew Ubinger got things started off for the men, and multiple attack errors by Hiram allowed Geneva to gain an early 5-1 edge. The Terriers got things back under control quickly, taking off on a 7-2 run to snag their first lead of the match. Geneva hung with the home side, using two more Ubinger kills and an ace from sophomore
Owen Kelley to go in front 11-10. However, the next stretch of play saw Hiram go on an 8-2 run to seize an 18-13 advantage, and they held onto that lead for the remainder of the set to take it 25-17.
Junior
Evan Puhl gave the men a 4-2 lead with a nice kill early in set two, but four consecutive Terrier points followed to give the home side a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the set. A Kelley kill a few points later brought Geneva back within two points, 11-9, but that was the closest the GTs would get before dropping the set 25-16.
Geneva and Hiram were neck-and-neck to start the third set, with the Golden Tornadoes receiving kills from Ubinger, Kelley, sophomore
Daniel Spear, and junior
Paul O'Donnell to obtain a narrow 6-5 edge. An 8-1 run from the Terriers put them solidly in command, and despite the men cutting the deficit down to one multiple times, the GTs could not come back to tie the score, losing the set 25-23.
Ubinger posted a well-rounded final line for the men, recording nine kills on a .233 hitting percentage to go along with eight digs and seven assists. Kelley notched nine kills of his own, and senior
Joshua Sangrey led the defense with a team-high 16 digs. Freshman
Colton Alfaro continued to direct the offense, garnering 20 assists.
The men play just once next week, with a home match against Thiel slated for Wednesday, March 5
th, at 7:00 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).
