BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – It was another quick match for the Geneva men's volleyball team on Thursday evening, as they defeated Bethany College in three sets, 25-11, 25-20, 25-13, in the first-ever Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) men's volleyball match. This was the fourth time the men have swept their opponents in the last five matches. With the win, Geneva's record is bumped up to 5-5, 1-0 in conference play, while Bethany's loss brings them down to 1-4, 0-1 in the PAC.

The men soared out to a 7-1 lead right at the beginning of set one, receiving kills from sophomore Owen Kelley, junior Evan Puhl, and freshman Matthew DeGraaf in the process. A couple of Geneva errors allowed Bethany to keep the score within six points for the next few minutes, but then an 8-2 run by the GTs that featured three Puhl kills and two more from Kelley gave the men a commanding 18-6 lead. Bethany did not threaten for the remainder of the set, and Geneva took it 25-11.

Two early kills from both Kelley and sophomore Daniel Spear gave Geneva another early advantage as the Golden Tornadoes went ahead 9-3 to start the second set. Bethany came back to bring the score within four points, 11-7, and Geneva struggled to create much more separation than that over the next few minutes, going up by seven points multiple times only to see Bethany bring the difference back down to four. The Bison got the deficit as low as two points, 21-19, but the GTs ended the set on a 4-1 stretch thanks to back-to-back Kelley aces to win it 25-20.

Once again, Geneva stormed out of the set break, this time to the tune of a 15-3 run to begin set number three. An ace from Spear brought the score to 17-5, but Bethany then scored five points in a row to slow the Golden Tornadoes' momentum. The men responded with five consecutive points of their own behind the serve of junior Andrew Ubinger to put the game out of reach, and they emerged victorious from the third and final set, 25-13.

Kelley had a strong night hitting from the outside, finishing with 11 kills on a .360 hitting percentage in the win. He also posted four aces. Puhl had another solid night, recording seven kills on an efficient .778 percentage, and Ubinger contributed six kills as well as a game-high nine digs. Freshman Colton Alfaro continued to set well, finishing with 18 assists in the win.

The men look to continue their strong play as of late when they travel to Lancaster, PA this weekend for a tri-match with Stevenson and Lancaster Bible. They will face off against Stevenson at 12:00 p.m. this Saturday, February 8^th, before taking on the Chargers at 2:00 p.m. that same day.

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).