MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – It was a difficult opening night for the Geneva women's volleyball program on Friday, as the GTs dropped both of their matches in four sets on the first day of their tournament in upstate New York. Already down all-conference outside hitter Emily Nelson due to injury, the women also lost their starting right-side hitter, Katie Seboe, to an injury during warm-ups. They proceeded to win the first set in both matches before losing the next three, falling to Western New England 25-21, 20-25, 14-25, 20-25, and SUNY Polytechnic 25-22, 24-26, 18-25, 17-25.

Senior Heather Seubert got things started off on the right foot in Geneva's first match with an ace on the opening point. Three consecutive Golden Bears errors, followed by a kill from freshman Hannah Kelley, gave the GTs an early 5-1 advantage. WNEU battled back, pulling within one point, 7-6, but a quick 4-0 run by Geneva put the Golden Tornadoes back in control. Once more the Golden Bears came back to draw within one point, and once more the women responded, winning three points in a row to maintain the lead. The GTs continued to capitalize on WNEU errors as the frame went on, and they took the set comfortably, 25-21.

Set two started out very well for Geneva, with consecutive Seubert service aces giving the women an early 4-1 edge. That lead continued to grow, and after back-to-back kills by Kelley and senior Abigail Glumac, Geneva led 17-11. The two teams traded points for a little bit, but then the Golden Bears proceeded to go on a devastating 12-1 run to steal the set.

Unfortunately for Geneva, Western New England jumped out to a 6-2 lead early in set three and never looked back. An ace by junior Daphne Alexander brought the GTs within one point, 7-6, but a quick 7-2 Golden Bears run silenced Geneva's attempt to rally. WNEU took the third set 25-14.

The Golden Tornadoes surged out to a 9-2 lead in the fourth set thanks to five different Western New England errors. They maintained that distance for a while, taking a 17-10 lead into the midpoint of the set. Once again, however, WNEU stormed back, using a 15-3 run to take the fourth and final set 25-20.

Freshman Rachel Baird led the GTs in kills, posting eight in the first match of her collegiate career. Fellow freshman Ruthie Land finished with a team-high 13 assists while Seubert and Kelley totaled 11 digs apiece.

Geneva jumped ahead 5-1 in the early stages of the second match before the SUNY Poly team got their legs under them. Consecutive kills by Baird and Kelley gave the women a six-point advantage, and a Wildcat attack error put the GTs in front 13-6. SUNY Poly came all the way back, knotting the score late at 22-22, but Geneva recorded kills on the final three points to take set one 25-22.

Set two was about as close as it could get, with neither team gaining more than a two point advantage until sophomore Laura Goonewardene's ace gave Geneva a 22-19 edge. Once again, however, the Golden Tornadoes fell victim to a late-set run, with the Wildcats putting together a 6-1 stretch to nab the second set 26-24.

The GTs got off to a bad start in set three, with SUNY Poly running out to a 7-2 lead right off the bat. The women battled, but could not make up the lost ground, losing the set 25-18. Unfortunately, it was more of the same in the fourth set, with the Wildcats grabbing a lead midway through the frame and never relinquishing it en route to a 25-17 victory.

Senior Gracyn Lee had a good second match for the women, notching 11 kills on a .375 hitting percentage. Goonewardene and Land split the setting against SUNY Poly, recording 18 and 15 assists, respectively, while Seubert was impressive in defense with 27 digs.

The GTs will play two more matches in New York tomorrow, taking on the hosts, SUNY Morrisville, at 10 a.m. before a 12:00 p.m. match against Alfred State.

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).