BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva women's volleyball team suffered defeat at the hands of Thiel College Wednesday night, falling to the Tomcats in four sets (21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 13-25). An incredible comeback to tie the match at one set apiece in the second frame wasn't enough to push Geneva over the edge, and the loss drops the Golden Tornadoes to 7-16 overall, 0-8 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action. Meanwhile, Thiel jumps to 9-8 overall, 5-4 in the PAC.
Two early service aces from senior
Gracyn Lee sent the women ahead 3-1, but Thiel quickly recovered, scoring five points in a row to gain an edge. The GTs stayed within striking distance until the midpoint of the set, when a 7-1Tomcat run put the visitors in front 21-11. Geneva made a valiant comeback effort toward the end of the frame, outscoring Thiel 9-2 in one stretch behind three kills from freshman
Bridget Campbell, but it was too late as Thiel closed the set and won 25-21.
Set two began about as poorly as it could have for the GTs, with Thiel scoring the first 11 points of the frame. Slowly but surely, however, the women worked their way back to within five points, with a block by senior
Daphne Alexander and sophomore
Ruthie Land making the score 19-14. From that point onward, Geneva closed the set on an 11-2 run, getting three aces and a kill from Land to complete their improbable comeback and tie the match at 1-1.
The Golden Tornadoes carried that momentum into the third set, going in front 11-4 behind two kills and a block by Alexander and a couple of aces from freshman
Chloe Borisuk. A 9-2 Tomcat run evened the score, however, and Thiel controlled the rest of the set to win it 25-20.
Set four did not go well for the women, with Thiel gaining a 14-8 advantage and coasting the rest of the way to earn the four-set victory.
Campbell had a breakout game for the GTs, notching a career-best 10 kills on a .250 hitting percentage. Alexander contributed eight kills and two blocks in a solid outing, and freshman
Kyla Kephart distributed a team-high 12 assists. Land was also very active, notching 11 assists, four kills, and a team-best nine digs. She and Borisuk each served five aces in the loss.
The women are on the road this weekend, taking on Franciscan on Saturday, October 31, for a 12:00 p.m. match.
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).
