HUNTINGDON, Pa.—The 13th-ranked Hobart volleyball team split nonconference action this afternoon in the CVC Tri-match held at Juniata College. The Statesmen defeated Eastern Mennonite University 3-1 before falling in five sets to No. 8 Juniata. Hobart moves to 15-9 on the season, while the Royals fall to 12-11 and the host Eagles move to 18-4.

Graduate student Andrew Kim led Hobart with 27 kills through two matches, including a 21-kill (.300) performance against Juniata. He added six digs, three assists, one service ace and one block through six sets. First-year Daniel Sappia chipped in 25 kills, 13 digs, two aces and two assists in the split. First-year setter Zack Farren combined for 76 assists through nine sets.

David Ward led the Royals with 12 kills (.192), three digs, two aces and one block in the loss. Tyler Goldsborough tallied a match-high 17 kills (.344), five digs and four service aces for the Eagles in the five-set win.

MATCH MOMENTS:
 
Match 1 (Eastern Mennonite):

• The Statesmen grabbed an early lead and combined for 13 kills (.161) as a team compared to the Royals' eight (.143). Despite a late comeback by EMU, Hobart closed out the first set on top 26-24.
• The two sides traded points in the second set with the Royals putting down 13 kills (.125) as a team compared to the Statesmen's 12 (.286). EMU tallied eight hitting errors to Hobart's four, handing the Statesmen a 25-23 win in set two to extend their lead to 2-0.
• In a must-win set for the Royals, EMU kept Hobart to a match-low nine kills (.087) and put down 13 (.375) to storm back and grab a 25-20 win to force a fourth set.
• Hobart bounced back in the fourth with a match-low three errors on 12 kills (.360). The efficient play led the Statesmen to a 25-22 win in set four to close out the match on top, 3-1.

Match stats:

• First-year Anthony Zontini (.190) and Sappia (.280) led the Statesmen with 10 kills each in the win. First-year Noah DeLong chipped in seven while Kim added six kills (.600) in the final set.
• Farren recorded a team-leading 39 assists. He added five digs, two solo blocks and one service ace for Hobart.
• The Statesmen combined for 11 blocks compared to the Royals seven. DeLong led the match with six combined blocks while first-year Nate Magni chipped in three.
• First-year libero Gavin Meador led Hobart's defense with six digs. Zontini and Farren tallied five each in the win.

Match 2 (Juniata):

• The Statesmen came out swinging to open their second match of the day. Hobart combined for 14 kills (.361) on just one error and forced Juniata to a match-high eight hitting errors. The Statesmen came from behind late to grab a 26-24 win in the opening set.
• Errors plagued Hobart in the second set as the team collected seven errors on just seven kills (.000). The Eagles put down a match-low nine kills (.333) but used their efficient offense to grab a 25-16 win in set two to tie the match at 1-1.
• Juniata continued on its momentum in the fourth and used strong serving to force Hobart out of system. The Statesmen were held to just five kills (.048) as the Eagles grabbed a dominating 25-10 win to grab the lead.
• Hobart wasn't done yet and responded with an impressive 16 kill (.275) performance in the fourth. The Statesmen held the Eagles to their lowest hitting percentage of the match (.143) to force a fifth set with a tight 25-23 win in set four.
• The two sides traded points in the fifth with Hobart putting down eight kills (.333) compared to Juniata's nine (.571). A kill by Goldsborough and a Statesmen service error resulted in a 15-12 win for the Eagles.

Match stats:

• Kim led Hobart with 21 kills (.300) through five sets. Sappia chipped in 15 (.127), while DeLong added 11 (.400).
• Farren tallied 37 assists in the five-set thriller. He added six digs and one block for the Statesmen.
• Hobart combined for 38 digs as a team. Meador led the team with 11, while Sappia recorded 10.
• Magni continued to show a strong presence at the net, recording four blocks. DeLong added two in the loss.

COACHES CORNER:
 
"I am proud of the team going 1-1 this weekend," said Head Coach Steve England. "We are growing as a team each weekend we play. It was nice to see a large portion of the team getting an opportunity to develop against EMU. Losing in five against a very good Juniata squad was hard to take. However, we rebounded well taking the fourth set after struggling in sets two and three. This team is on the brink of breaking through. We have to stay patient and learn from these pressure packed situations. All of our focus is on the UVC now with a big match against MIT next week,"

UP NEXT:
 
Hobart will be back in action Wednesday, March 20, when it travels to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to take on MIT in a UVC matchup. First serve between the Statesmen and the Engineers is set for 7 p.m. at the Rockwell Cage.