LYNCHBURG, Va. -- The Geneva College women's volleyball team opened play at its weekend tournament at Lynchburg on Friday afternoon with a split of its two matches. In the first match of the day, the women swept Warren Wilson 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 before losing to the hosts Lynchburg 25-17, 25-16, 25-8. Geneva is now 5-2 on the season and has equaled its win total from last season.
In the first match of the day against Warren Wilson, Head Coach Wendy Smith relied on a number of reserves to handle most of the playing time, and they responded early with a five-point run to give Geneva a 9-4 edge. Freshman Jane Holdeman had an ace and senior Gracyn Lee a kill in the run. The Golden Tornadoes stretched their lead to 14-7 after kills from junior Madi DeRuiter and freshmen Josalin McCauley and Kyla Kephart. Kills from Lee, Kephart and McCauley kept the lead at 20-13, and the women were able to hold off a late rally to win 25-22.
Warren Wilson jumped ahead early in set two, 8-1, before Geneva began to respond. Four straight points behind another ace from Holdeman, and kills from Lee and McCauley, got Geneva back into the set. Another kill from McCauley pulled Geneva within 12-11 before a Warren Wilson run extended the lead back to 20-15. Coach Smith inserted a couple starters at that point, and the veterans quickly battled back, scoring seven straight points to give the Golden Tornadoes their first lead of the set, 22-20. The women eventually finished off the set, 25-22, on a block from freshman Bridget Campbell.
Kills from McCauley, Kephart and sophomore Rachel Baird early in the third set allowed Geneva to take control, 11-4, and a moment later, a kill from sophomore Kendall Anderson and back-to-back kills from McCauley increased the Geneva advantage to 15-6. The Owls tried to rally again late, pulling within 24-21, but a kill from freshman Sarah Elkins finished off the match, 25-21.
McCauley led the team with nine kills on a .389 hitting percentage. Lee added six kills and Anderson five kills. Kephart had an all-around strong match with 29 assists, 11 digs and five kills. Elkins also added 11 digs. Geneva hit .234 as a team.
The second match of the day was against a significantly more challenging opponent, with Lynchburg receiving votes in the national rankings. After an early ace from Kephart in the first set evened the score at 3-3, a 6-1 run by Lynchburg allowed the Hornets to grab a 10-4 advantage. Geneva rallied to pull within 11-10 behind two blocks from Lee, but Lynchburg steadily pulled away from there to win 25-17.
The second set stayed close midway through, with a kill from Elkins pulling Geneva with 15-14. However, Lynchburg closed the set on a 10-2 run to win 25-16.
The third set got away from Geneva early. The Hornets jumped out to a 12-2 lead and quickly finished off the match, 25-8.
Elkins led the team with five kills in the match.
Geneva plays twice more tomorrow before returning home. The women face Piedmont at 10:00 a.m. and Eastern Mennonite at 2:00 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).
