BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva men's volleyball team battled to five sets with Thiel College, but eventually fell to the Tomcats, who are currently perfect in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). Geneva lost 17-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 7-15 inside Metheny Fieldhouse. The Golden Tornadoes slip to 8-11, 3-4 in the PAC, and the Tomcats move to 13-6, 6-0 in the PAC.
Thiel led early in the first set, 8-5. Geneva fought to stay within three points, with junior
Evan Puhl and sophomore
Owen Kelley both notching two kills to keep the score close at 11-8. The Golden Tornadoes battled for a while, with Puhl grabbing two more kills and junior
Paul O'Donnell recording two of his own. The Tomcats maintained their lead, however, and won the set 25-17.
In set two, the Tomcats jumped ahead 7-3. A block from Kelley and sophomore
Daniel Spear, along with three kills from junior
Andrew Ubinger, aided the GT effort, and the men suddenly found themselves within three points, 23-20. Geneva continued to battle, with Kelley grabbing two kills, but the Tomcats closed out the set 25-21.
Geneva fought early on in the third set, as Puhl and freshman
Matthew DeGraaf notched two blocks to keep the score close, 11-10. The Golden Tornadoes took the lead, 17-14, with two blocks from Spear, one assisted by DeGraaf and the other by O'Donnell, and then Puhl picked up two kills and Kelley added another to build the Geneva momentum. Spear grabbed back-to-back kills to give the men a 21-18 lead, and Geneva took the third set off an ace from sophomore
Alex Smith, 25-19.
The fourth set started out in a similar fashion for the GTs, as Puhl and Ubinger both grabbed two kills, with Geneva down 11-10. The Golden Tornadoes tied the set up, 14-14, with Puhl and O'Donnell posting a block. DeGraaf added two kills, and Puhl grabbed three of his own, to send the GTs ahead 23-20. Kelley notched two more kills, and the Golden Tornadoes took the fourth set, 25-23.
Ubinger and O'Donnell added kills in the beginning of set five as the GTs stayed with the Tomcats, 4-4. However, a few Geneva errors allowed the Tomcats to gain a 6-13 lead, and Thiel eventually won the set and the match 7-15.
Puhl led the offense with 14 kills, hitting an impressive .433 percent with three blocks. Kelley notched 13 kills and 10 digs, with Ubinger adding 11 kills, 16 assists, and 9 digs. Freshman
Colton Alfaro led the team with 28 assists, and senior
Joshua Sangrey led the defense with 18 digs.
The Golden Tornadoes resume play after spring break on March 19
th, against the Saint Vincent Bearcats. The game starts at 7:00 PM in Metheny Field House.
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).
