POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.—The 15th-ranked Hobart volleyball team made its first appearance in program history in the United Volleyball Conference postseason tournament this afternoon as the fifth-seeded Statesmen fell to fourth-seeded MIT 3-1 in Kenyon Hall on the campus of Vassar College. Hobart concludes its season at 18-11, while the 12th-ranked Engineers move to 19-7 overall and advances to tomorrow's semifinal match against top-seeded Vassar.

The quarterfinal matchup was a back-and-forth battle that saw the two sides post 17 lead changes and 34 tie scores. The Statesmen put down 48 kills (.183) as a team compared to the Engineer's 50 (.172). Hobart tallied 40 digs to MIT's 46 and combined for 12.5 blocks compared to the Engineer's 14. The Statesmen tallied two service aces in the loss.

Graduate student Andrew Kim led Hobart with 27 kills on an impressive .345 hitting percentage. He added eight digs, five blocks, one service ace and one assist through four sets. First-year Daniel Sappia chipped in nine kills, seven digs and three blocks. Classmate Noah DeLong added eight kills (.462), 10 assists, three digs and three blocks in the loss.

Nicholas Gustafson led the Engineers with 15 kills (.057), eight digs and two blocks. Grant Oh added 14 kills (.205) in the win. Riley Oh tallied 32 assists, seven digs, four blocks and two service aces through four sets.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• The opening set saw 16 tie scores and nine lead changes as the Statesmen and Engineers traded points. Hobart tallied 12 kills (.158) compared to MIT's 15 (.231). Kim led the way with seven kills (.190), but MIT used a late comeback to grab a 25-22 win in set one.
• The Statesmen stormed back in the second set, putting down 14 kills (.276) as a team compared to the Engineer's 10 (.160). DeLong brought a spark off the bench, tallying three kills (.750) to lead Hobart to a 25-20 win to tie the game at 1-1.
• The back-and-forth action continued in the third as the two sides traded the lead five times and produced nine tie scores. Despite a late comeback by the Statesmen, the Engineers closed out the third on top 25-22 to regain the lead.
• Hobart jumped out to an early lead in the must-win set. Kim led the Statesmen with six of Hobart's 12 kills early in the fourth but the Engineer's stormed back with a late push to close out the fourth on top 25-23.

MATCH STATS:

• Kim led Hobart with a match-high 27 kills (.345), while Sappia chipped in nine. DeLong tallied eight kills (.462) off the bench for the Statesmen.
• First-year setter Zack Farren recorded a match-high 35 assists. He added two blocks and one service ace in the loss.
• The Statesmen combined for 40 digs as a team and were led by first-year libero Gavin Meador with 10. Kim chipped in eight, while Sappia and Farren added seven digs each.
• Hobart played strong at the net and combined for 12.5 blocks as a team. First-year Nate Magni and Kim recorded five blocks each, while Sappia and Farren tallied two each.

COACHES CORNER:

"I am humbled by the achievements this first year program has accomplished," said Head Coach Steve England. "We started off as a group of individuals from all over the country and in some cases different countries. Each of us from different volleyball backgrounds. Over the course of the academic calendar, we became a family. We developed a strong positive culture with everyone rowing the boat in the same direction. We learned how to play Hobart volleyball. I am so proud of the team and more importantly the people of high character that we have become. The future of Hobart volleyball is bright!"