ERIE, Pa. – The Geneva women's volleyball team remains in search of their first win after their weekend trip to Erie, falling in four sets to both Bluffton (17-25, 25-22, 23-25, 16-25) and Houghton (24-26, 22-25, 25-17, 22-25) on Saturday. It's been a rough opening stretch for the GTs as they've battled injuries, and several times they've been on the wrong end of a very close set. The Golden Tornadoes are 0-8 through the first two weekends of play.

Bluffton gained control of the first set early on, pulling in front 9-5 after the first few minutes. Geneva made a good effort to pull level, cutting the deficit down to two points multiple times, but the Beavers fended off any threat to take the set 25-17.

The Beavers jumped ahead in the next set as well, gaining a 5-1 edge at the outset. Three straight kills by senior Emily Nelson brought the Golden Tornadoes within one point. Slowly, the women worked their way back to tie the set at 8-8, then put together a short 4-1 run to take a three-point lead. The two sides went back-and-forth over the next several minutes, but consecutive kills from freshman Kaelyn Keefer gave Geneva a 19-17 advantage late in the frame. The women finished the set on a 5-1 run, winning it 25-22.

Unfortunately for the GTs, that was where their success would end in the first match. Bluffton won a tightly contested third set, 25-23, before flying ahead in the fourth and final set to win it 25-16.

Sophomore Laura Goonewardene performed well in the loss, leading the team with 32 assists while also recording 12 digs. Nelson notched a match-high 16 kills to go along with 11 digs of her own, and senior libero Heather Seubert led the team in both digs (13) and aces (5).

Geneva soared out to an 8-3 lead in the opening set against Houghton, riding Seubert's serve and a couple of kills from Keefer. Two more Keefer kills made the score 13-5 in favor of the women, but Houghton roared back. An 11-3 run by the Highlanders tied up the score and took away all of Geneva's momentum, and despite a late one-point lead for the GTs, Houghton managed to sneak a victory in the first set, 26-24.

Again, the GTs took a lead early in set two, with Keefer serving multiple aces to put Geneva in front 10-5. The Highlanders again responded in a big way, however, ending the set on an 8-1 run to nab the win.

Despite a solid third set from the women, which saw them win handily 25-17, they could not maintain that momentum into what would be the final set of the match, falling to the Highlanders 25-22.

Junior Daphne Alexander played well for the women in the loss, posting 13 kills on a .458 hitting percentage. Keefer finished with a well-rounded stat line of 12 kills, 11 digs, and three aces, while senior Abigail Glumac also had 12 kills. Once again, Goonewardene led the team with 36 assists, and Seubert finished with a match-high 20 digs.

The Golden Tornadoes have a week off before their next tournament, which will take place in Meadville, PA, at Allegheny College. They will take on the hosts Allegheny as well as Mount Union on the opening day of the tournament, Friday, September 12^th.

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).