PURCHASE, N.Y.—The 11th-ranked Hobart volleyball team bounced back with back-to-back sweeps of Regis and Manhattanville this afternoon at the Manhattanville tri-match in Kennedy Gymnasium. With the wins, the Statesmen move to 15-2 overall, while the Pride fall to 8-5 and the Valiants fall to 2-9 on the season.

Sophomore Aiden Kemora led Hobart this afternoon with 17 kills, hitting .343 through two matches. Kemora added 15 digs, two assists, one block and one service ace in the wins. He averaged 2.38 kills per set, 2.50 digs per set and 3.08 points per set to help the Statesmen to back-to-back wins.

Classmate Noah DeLong chipped in 14 kills, hitting .303 through two matches. DeLong added five assists, four service aces and four digs for Hobart this afternoon. Sophomore Daniel Sappia chipped in 12 kills (.273), nine digs, and three service aces to help the Statesmen to victory.

MATCH MOMENTS:
 
Match 1 (Regis):

• Hobart came out strong in the opening set and combined for 12 kills (.385) as a team, while holding Regis to just six kills (.000). Kemora led the way for the Statesmen with four kills (.444) in the first set. Hobart combined for three blocks in set one to grab an early 25-18 win to open the match.
• The Statesmen continued on their momentum and put down a match-high 15 kills (.333) in the second set. The Pride responded with a match-high seven kills (.130) but were matched by a balanced Hobart attack that saw six different players tally at least two kills in the set. The Statesmen extended their lead to 2-0 with a 25-19 win in set two.
• The errors plagued the Pride in the third set as they racked up six hitting errors with only five kills (-.059) in the must-win set. Hobart stayed consistent and combined for 13 kills, hitting an impressive .556 to close out the sweep with a dominating 25-14 win in set three.

Match stats:

• Kemora led the Statesmen with nine kills on zero hitting errors, hitting .500 through three sets. Graduate student Andrew Kim chipped in eight kills (.150), while first-year Alain Malcolm added seven kills (.600) out of the middle.
• Sophomore Zack Farren and graduate student Benjamin Lincoln led Hobart from the setter position and tallied 20 and 8 assists, respectively. The duo combined for four digs in the sweep as well.
• The Statesmen combined for 23 digs as a team and were led by Kim with seven. Sappia chipped in five digs, while Kemora added four in the win.
• Hobart continued to impress from the service line and held an 8-4 advantage in service aces. DeLong led the way with four, while Kim and Malcolm chipped in two aces each.

Match 2 (Manhattanville):

• The opening set of the last match of the day saw back-and-forth action between the Statesmen and the Valiants. The two sides traded the lead four times and registered five tie scores in the first set. DeLong led Hobart with six kills (.500) in the opening set as it came from behind to win set one 25-21.
• The Statesmen continued on their momentum into the second set as they put down 14 kills (.171) as a team. Hobart held Manhattanville to a match low five kills (-.029) and found six kills from Sappia (.333) to extend their lead to 2-0 with a 25-20 win in set two.
• Hobart continued to roll in the third set, putting down a match-high 16 kills (.212) as a team while holding the Valiants to just six (.042). The Statesmen found at least two kills from four different players and tallied two service aces to close out the sweep with a 25-21 win in set three.

Match stats:

• Sappia led Hobart with 12 kills, hitting .323 in the sweep. DeLong (.227), Kemora (.176) and first-year Josh Reilly (.375) chipped in eight kills each for the Statesmen. Reilly's eight kills was a career-high.
• Again, Farren and Lincoln led the Statesmen from the setter position and tallied 20 and 10 assists, respectively. Farren added 10 digs for his first double-double of the season.
• Hobart combined for 47 digs as a team and was led by Kemora with a season-high 11. Meador and Farren chipped in 10 digs each in the win, while Sappia and Lincoln added four digs each for the Statesmen.
• The Statesmen continued to serve strong and tallied four aces in the win. Sappia led the team with three aces, while Kemora chipped in one ace in the sweep.

 COACHES CORNER:

"I am proud of the way we responded after a tough loss to a very good Steven's team last night," said Head Coach Steve England. "We are learning what it takes to reach the next level with every ranked match we play. Though it can be frustrating at times, these experiences are good for the program moving forward."

UP NEXT:
 
Hobart will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 22, when it travels to Buffalo, New York, for the Bengal Invite. The Statesmen will take on Penn State Behrend at 4 p.m. and will close out the weekend's action with a matchup with Buffalo State at 6 p.m.