BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Feb. 25) – The Waynesburg University volleyball team made its season debut Thursday night when it played a pair of matches at fellow Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) member Geneva. Both halves of the doubleheader went to the host Golden Tornadoes who took the contests by the final scores of 3-0 and 3-1.
 
The first match, which also served as the debut of first-year head coach Emily Taylor, was decided by set scores of 25-11, 25-16 and 25-12. The first half of the twin-bill counted towards both teams' PAC records. Match two was a much more tightly contested affair. Geneva (2-0, 1-0) pulled out the first two sets by scores of 28-26, 27-25, before the Jackets (0-2, 0-1) took their first set of the young season 28-26. Unfortunately for the Orange and Black, the Golden Tornadoes closed out the victory with a 25-17 triumph in set four.
 
The late match of the day only counted toward each team's overall record.
 
"There were definitely some nerves for our first match on everyone's part," Taylor said. "However, I couldn't be more proud of how we regrouped and and played hard in the second match."

Waynesburg's offensive efforts were led by senior Hannah Colvin (Hagerstown, Md. / Grace Academy), who recorded 15 kills, including 12 in the second match. Junior Hannah Buhr (Jefferson, Md. / Brunswick) also reached double digits in successful attacks during match two with 10. Senior Mya Brooks (Lansing, Mich. / Holt) led the Jacket attack in match one with five kills.
 
Senior Alexis Phillips (New Kensington, Pa. / Plum) helped out the Jackets' offensive efforts with a combined 32 assists on the night, including 20 in match two. Junior Alyson Johnson (Raceland, Ky. / St. Joseph Central Catholic) paced the Waynesburg defense with 43 digs. Her 17 digs in the opener were tops in the match.
 
Sophomore Kayla Stohon (Summerhill, Pa. / Forest Hills) was a force around the net with seven total blocks. Stohon was the match leader in both halves of the doubleheader. She racked up an impressive five stuffs in match two.

"I think we played hard overall. There were some points where our energy dipped and those instances were what held us back tonight." Taylor said. "Finding consistency with our energy and  confidence in ourselves is something we are focusing on for our next match." 

Waynesburg is back in action on Tuesday, March 2, when it plays its first match at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse since Nov. 2, 2019. Chatham comes to town for a pair of matches, with the opener getting started at 6 p.m.