MEADVILLE, Pa. – Saturday was a day of joy and relief for the Geneva College women's volleyball team.  The Golden Tornadoes, who have had a tough opening to the season while battling injuries, sickness and youth, played their best volleyball of the young season by sweeping both Houghton (25-21, 25-19, 25-16) and Fredonia (25-22, 25-17, 25-19) on the final day of the Allegheny Tournament.

In the first match of the day against Houghton, the opening set was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams holding at least a three-point lead at different points in the early going.  Geneva pulled even at 20-20 on a kill from junior Daphne Alexander, and after a Houghton point, the Golden Tornadoes reeled off the final five points to win the set, 25-21.  Freshman Rachel Baird had two kills late, while freshman Kendall Anderson delivered an ace.

Geneva opened the second set with two straight points before the Highlanders responded with seven quick points to take an early lead.  The Golden Tornadoes slowly worked their way back into the set, though, and kills from Baird and junior Emily Nelson enabled Geneva to retake the lead, 14-13.  Houghton pulled level, but five straight points behind three aces from sophomore Laura Goonewardene and kills from Nelson and junior Gracyn Lee allowed the women to pull away for a 25-19 win.  Alexander finished the set off with a kill.

Geneva took command of the third set midway through play, scoring seven straight points to take a big 15-6 advantage.  Baird had two kills, Nelson added a kill, and Alexander served another ace in the stretch.  Houghton could never respond, and two kills and an ace from Anderson and a kill from Alexander, helped finish off the Highlanders, 25-16, and secure Geneva's first win of the season.

The Golden Tornadoes finished with a balanced offensive attack.  Nelson and senior Abigail Glumac each finished with seven kills, while Alexander and Baird each totaled six kills.  Goonewardene led the team with 13 assists, while freshman Ruthie Land added 10 assists as the pair split most of the setting duties throughout the match. 

Geneva was especially impressive from the service line, finishing with 17 aces compared to just two errors.  Goonewardene led the team with five aces, while senior Heather Seubert, who led the team with 22 digs, along with Nelson and Anderson, each finished with three aces. 

In the second match of the day against Fredonia, Geneva jumped ahead quickly, 5-2, behind two kills from Glumac, a kill from Lee and an ace from Seubert.  Fredonia responded with an 8-1 run to take the lead, but the Golden Tornadoes quickly pulled even, 11-11, after a kill from Nelson.  The rest of the set was tight until, with the score tied 21-21, the women closed on a 4-1 run, with Nelson closing out the set 25-22 with a kill.

The second set was fairly even until, midway through the set, Geneva scored six straight points to grab a 20-14 advantage.  Nelson had two kills and two blocks, while Alexander had a kill and two blocks in the run.  A kill from Glumac and an ace from freshman Julia McChesney finished off the set, 25-17.

Geneva used a big run early in the third set to turn a 7-6 deficit into a 15-8 lead.  The women received two aces from Anderson, another ace from Land, two kills from Alexander and a kill each from Goonewardene, Nelson and Baird in the stretch.  Fredonia responded with six straight points to pull within one point, but a Geneva timeout seemed to right the ship as the Golden Tornadoes scored six straight of their own out of the break, the last coming on another ace from Alexander.  Geneva finished off its second win of the day, 25-19, on an ace from Goonewardene and a kill from Glumac.

Nelson led the team with 11 kills, while Glumac and Alexander each added seven kills.  Land (15 assists) and Goonewardene (13 assists) again split the setting duties, while Seubert led the team with 20 digs.  Anderson and junior Brooklen Helton each chipped in with 10 digs apiece.  The women again served well, finishing with 14 aces, led by Seubert and Alexander who each finished with three.  Seubert was named to the All-Tournament team for her play this weekend.  Baird and Alexander posted a team-high three blocks each.

After opening their season with 12 straight matches on the road, the women will finally get a chance to play inside of Metheny Fieldhouse on Wednesday when Geneva hosts La Roche at 7:00 p.m.