ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Geneva men's volleyball season opened their season at Mount Union on Tuesday evening, taking set one before dropping the next three (25-22, 21-25, 22-25, 14-25). Almost every set was extremely close, with much of the match being played within a three-point-or-less difference. The match was a good test for the Golden Tornadoes, who held their own against a quality Mount Union side.

Sophomore Owen Kelley got things started off for the Golden Tornadoes, registering a kill on the opening point. Three straight errors by the Purple Raiders followed by another kill from Kelley put Geneva up 5-0, and down five points Mount Union finally seemed to get their legs underneath them. Both sides traded points over the next several minutes, with the hosts keeping things close, but again it was a string of Raider errors that allowed the men to build up a 17-10 advantage. Mount Union managed to narrow the gap to two toward the end of the set, but the GTs never trailed en route to a 25-22 set victory.

The GTs weren't able to snag a lead early in the second set, with Mount Union jumping ahead 3-1. A Raider service error and a sharply hit kill by junior Daniel Spear knotted the score, and the difference stayed within one point for the next several minutes. It wasn't until the hosts used a 6-0 run to take a 17-12 lead that either team gained much of an advantage, and Mount Union maintained its lead to take the set 25-21.

Set three was another close one, with neither side gaining more than a one-point edge until back-to-back aces by freshman Joshua Stowe and senior Evan Puhl gave Geneva a 9-7 lead. The GTs advantage grew to 12-9 a few moments later, but Mount Union used five straight points to quickly regain the lead. Geneva fought to come back, tying the score at 15, but could not go back in front, losing the set 25-22.

The fourth and final set did not go Geneva's way from the beginning, with Moun Union soaring ahead for a 14-4 lead and never trailing by less than eight points after that, taking the set 25-14.

Kelley led the attack for the men, finishing with 10 kills on a .185 hitting percentage. Stowe contributed six kills as well as a team-high nine digs, while senior Andrew Ubinger ended with a team-best 15 assists to go with four kills. Ubinger split the setting duties with freshman Aaron Villi, who had 12 assists and four kills of his own in his collegiate debut.

The Golden Tornadoes return to Metheny Fieldhouse this Friday, January 16, for their home opener, a two-match slate against Bridgewater and Carlow. The men will face the Eagles at 6:00 p.m. before taking on the Celtics at 8:00 p.m.

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).