The Hobart volleyball team held at No. 15 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Men's Volleyball Poll. The Statesmen also rank top-25 in two other national polls, coming in at No. 15 in the Inside Hitter weekly rankings and No. 21 in the FrogJump Volleyball poll. Additionally, Hobart ranks sixth in the NCAA Division III Region II regional rankings.

The 15th-ranked Statesmen will be back in action this weekend in the United Volleyball Conference's postseason tournament. Hobart earned the fifth seed after going 3-4 in the regular season and will take on fourth-seeded MIT in the quarterfinal round on Friday, April 12. First serve between the Statesmen and the Engineers is set for 5 p.m. in Kenyon Gymnasium on the campus of Vassar College. The winner will advance to take on the top-seeded Brewers on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Hobart (18-10, 3-4) is coming off a 3-0 nonconference sweep of Buffalo State in Saturday's regular season finale. Graduate student Andrew Kim led the Statesmen with a match-high 21 kills on an impressive .529 hitting percentage. He added seven digs, two blocks, two service aces and two assists in the win. First-year Daniel Sappia chipped in nine kills (.071) and eight digs in the sweep of the Bengals.

Fans who cannot make it to Poughkeepsie, New York, can follow all the action with live stats and video courtesy of Vassar athletics. Keep up with all of the action in the Tournament Homepage.  

ABOUT THE STATESMEN

• Kim leads the nation in kills per set (5.63) and points per set (6.37). His .404 hitting percentage ranks sixth in the conference and 15th in the nation.
• Sappia ranks sixth in the UVC in kills, averaging 3.44 per set.
• First-year setter Zack Farren runs Hobart's offense, averaging a league-leading 9.94 assists per set, which ranks sixth in the nation. He leads a Statesmen squad that ranks second in the conference and fifth in the nation in assists per set (11.75).
• Hobart averages 12.46 kills per set as a team, which ranks second in the conference and seventh in the nation.
• Defensively, the Statesmen rank among the conference's best in several categories. Hobart ranks first in the UVC in digs per set (10.16) and is led by first-year libero Gavin Meador with 2.53 digs per set, which ranks third in the conference. Kim chips in 1.83 digs per set, which is eighth in the UVC.
• The Statesmen rank first in the conference in opponent kills (9.69) and opponent assists (9.15).
• First-year Nate Magni leads Hobart at the net and has recorded 65 blocks this season. His 0.71 blocks per set ranks 10th in the conference.
• Kim and Sappia both rank in the top-10 in the UVC in aces per set and have combined for 78 this season. Kim ranks third with 0.52 per set, while Sappia is eighth with 0.35 per set.

ABOUT THE ENGINEERS

• MIT (18-7, 4-3) is ranked No. 12 in this week's AVCA national poll and is coming off a 3-0 sweep of American International College on Saturday.
• The Engineers are led by Nick Gustafson, who averages 4.28 kills per set. His kills per set ranks third in the UVC and 12th in the nation.
• Gustafson also leads the team in points per set (4.96), which ranks third in the conference and 11th in the nation.
• Phillip Johnson ranks second in the conference and sixth in the nation with a .440 hitting percentage.
• Riley Oh leads MIT from the setter position. He averages 9.68 assists per set, which ranks second in the UVC. Oh leads an Engineer squad that ranks first in the conference in assists per set (11.77) and kills per set (12.66).
• Oh also leads the team with 2.13 digs per set, which ranks sixth in the conference.
• Johnson poses a threat at the net after recording 73 blocks this season. His 1.04 blocks per set leads the league and ranks 11th in the nation.

SERIES HISTORY

• Friday's matchup will be the second meeting in program history between the Statesmen and the Engineers.
• MIT holds a 1-0 edge in the series after defeating Hobart 3-1 on March 20.
• Kim led the Statesmen with 28 kills (.480) and 12 digs for his fourth double-double of the season. Sappia chipped in 10 kills and 10 digs in the loss. Farren recorded 46 assists and seven digs in the conference matchup.
• Gustafson led the Engineers with 19 kills (.170), nine digs and two blocks. Oh tallied 44 assists, 11 digs and five blocks in the win.