GENEVA, N.Y.—The 10th-ranked Hobart volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 sweep of Bard this afternoon in its home-opener in Bristol Gymnasium. With the win, the Statesmen move to 5-0 overall while the Raptors fall to 0-1 on the season.

The nonconference matchup saw Hobart lead in nearly every statistical category against Bard. The Statesmen put down 31 kills (.303) as a team compared to the Raptors' 14 (-.061). Hobart held a 13-3 edge in service aces as well as a 31-24 advantage in digs over Bard. The Raptors tallied five blocks as a team compared to the Statesmen's four this afternoon.

First-year Kian Kischke led Hobart with a career-high seven kills on nine swings, hitting .667 out of the middle. Kischke added three solo blocks and two service aces in his first collegiate start. Sophomore's Aiden Kemora (.063) and Nate Magni (.083) added five kills each in the sweep and combined for seven digs and one service ace. First-year Ben Taylor chipped in four kills (.375) and four digs in the win for Hobart.

Lincoln Grosso led the Raptors with six kills, two digs and a block. Gideon Jacob tallied a team-high eight assists and added three digs in the loss for Bard.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• The Statesmen came out strong in the opening set and doubled up the Raptors' five kills (-.167) with 10 (.273) of their own. After a back-and-forth opening few points, Hobart found the momentum and cruised to a dominating 25-11 win in set one.
• Hobart continued to roll in the second set and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and never looked back. The Statesmen combined for a match-high 13 kills (.391) and held Bard to just five (.105) for the second straight set. Kemora and Kischke tallied three kills and a service ace each to lead Hobart to a 25-13 win in the second set.
• Despite only putting down eight kills (.238) in the third, Hobart held Bard to a match-low four kills and a negative hitting percentage (-.087) for the second time of the day. First-year Lawson Drabik came off the bench to lead the Statesmen with three kills on four swings (.750) and a career-high four service aces. Drabik served three straight aces to close out the sweep with a 25-13 win in set three.

MATCH STATS:

• Kischke led Hobart with seven kills (.667) out of the middle, while Magni (.083) and Kemora (.063) chipped in five kills each in the win. Taylor added four kills (.375), while sophomore Nathan Deller (.222) and Drabik (.750) added three kills each in the sweep.
• Sophomore Zack Farren and graduate student Benjamin Lincoln led the Statesmen from the setter position and tallied 13 and 10 assists each, respectively. The duo combined for 14 digs and two service aces as well.
• Hobart continued to show a steady defense and combined for 31 digs as a team. Farren and Lincoln led the way with seven digs each, while Kemora chipped in six. Taylor and sophomore Daniel Sappia added five digs each in the win.
• The Statesmen served tough from the service line, recording a season-high 13 aces as a team. Sophomore Grayson Getz and Drabik tallied a career-high four service aces each. Farren and Kischke added two aces each for Hobart.

UP NEXT:
 
Hobart will be back in action tomorrow as it welcomes Eastern Mennonite for a nonconference double header. First serve between the Statesmen and the Royals is set for 11 a.m. in Bristol Gymnasium. The second match is set to follow at 1 p.m.