Geneva Falls Twice at Hiram Tournament

Hiram, OH – The Geneva College volleyball team opened the 2011 season with four matches at the University of Mt. Union tournament. The Golden Tornadoes never got the chance to play the host in that initial weekend, but on Friday evening Geneva did match up with Mt. Union and it didn’t turn out the way Geneva had hoped. After a 2-2 tournament weekend back in early September, the Golden Tornadoes dropped two more matches on Friday night including a 3-2 loss to Mt. Union and a 3-0 defeat to Otterbein.

Geneva opened the night with a five-game loss to host Mt. Union by scores of 25-16, 18-25, 22-25, 28-26, 6-15. The night cap was not nearly as competitive as Geneva fell to Otterbein in three straight games by scores of 15-25, 16-25, 23-25. The two losses dropped Geneva’s overall record to 7-4 including a perfect 5-0 mark in the PAC. The Golden Tornadoes lost only five matches all of last year with a final record of 26-5.

In the first match, Kristland McCracken led the offense with 13 kills with Ashley Davis checking in with 12 kills. Deanna Briody, who was just named the NCCAA national player of the week yesterday, picked up 44 assists in the five game loss. Defensively, Rachel Kuegler and Brianna Mixter each led the way with 35 digs.

In the loss to Otterbein, Maggie Bowersox picked up nine kills with McCracken finishing the match with eight. Mixter had 11 digs as Geneva fell in straight sets.

The Golden Tornadoes will get back at it tomorrow at Hiram with a rematch against Case Western, a team that defeated Geneva in early September, at 2 pm. Beginning at noon, Geneva will face the host Hiram College.

Geneva College is a comprehensive Christian college of the arts, sciences and professional studies. Founded in the tradition of the Reformed Christian faith, Geneva prepares students to serve Christ in all areas of society: work, family and the church. Geneva College’s philosophy of education is based on the Foundational Concepts of Christian Higher Education. Geneva is a founding member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU).