GENEVA, N.Y.—The 14th-ranked Hobart volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 sweep over No. 15 Nazareth University this evening in Bristol Gymnasium for the Statesmen's first conference win in program history. Hobart moves to 13-7 in its inaugural season with a 1-2 mark in the UVC, while Nazareth falls to 12-6 overall and 0-3 in conference play.

Hobart put on a dominant performance in the conference matchup grabbing its highest ranked win of the season. The Statesmen put down 43 kills, hitting .507 compared to the Golden Flyers 21 kills and .119 hitting percentage. Hobart served four aces compared to Nazareth's zero and combined for eight blocks to the Golden Flyers two.

Graduate student Andrew Kim led the Statesmen with 18 kills on one error, hitting an impressive .708 hitting percentage. He added four digs, three blocks and two service aces in the win. First-year Aiden Kemora chipped in nine kills (.538), four digs and one block for Hobart. Classmate Grayson Getz had an impressive showing out of the middle, recording a career-high .857 hitting percentage on six kills in the sweep.

Andrew Bodensteiner led Nazareth with eight kills (.583) and one block. AJ Burda tallied 15 assists and a team-high six digs for the Golden Flyers.
  
MATCH MOMENTS:

• The Statesmen came out firing in the opening set, putting down 17 kills (.667) as a team compared to the Golden Flyers four (-.053). Kim went off for eight kills (.889) and two aces as Hobart won set one in dominating fashion, 25-13.
• Nazareth responded with its best set of the match, combining for 10 kills (.129) as a team in the second. The Statesmen stayed consistent and found four kills each from first-year Daniel Sappia (.500) and Kemora (.667). Sappia recorded three solo blocks to help Hobart to a 25-18 win in set two.
• The Statesmen continued to roll in set three, combining for 13 kills (.333) as a team. Hobart held Nazareth to just seven kills (.294) in the set. The Statesmen closed out the sweep with a 25-17 win in set three to grab its first conference victory.

MATCH STATS:

• Kim led Hobart with 18 kills (.708), while Kemora added nine (.538). Sappia chipped in eight kills (.167), while Getz tallied six (.857) out of the middle.
• First-year setter Zack Farren recorded a match-high 40 assists. He added one dig in the win.
• The Statesmen served strong this afternoon, combining for four aces compared to the Golden Flyer's zero. Kim and first-year Nate Magni recorded two aces each.
• First-year libero Gavin Meador led the team with 13 digs in the sweep. Sappia chipped in five while Kim and Kemora recorded four digs each.
• Hobart played a strong game at the net, recording eight blocks compared to Nazareth's two. Sappia recorded three huge solo blocks to lead the Statesmen, while Kim and Magni chipped in three combined blocks as well.

COACHES CORNER:

"We played the best match of the year today," said Head Coach Steve England. "Our offense was balanced which made us hard to stop. We are happy to get our first UVC win in front of our home crowd fans. We are going to need to keep the momentum heading into a tough weekend. Go Hobart!"

UP NEXT:
 
Hobart will be back in action Saturday, March 9, when it welcomes SUNY New Paltz to Geneva for a UVC matchup. First serve between the Statesmen and the Hawks is set for noon in Bristol Gymnasium.