ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The 14th-ranked Hobart volleyball team fell in four sets to No. 12 St. John Fisher this evening in a thrilling UVC matchup in Manning & Napier Gymnasium. With the loss, the Statesmen fall to 18-6 on the season with a 1-4 mark in the UVC, while the Cardinals move to 18-6 overall with a 3-1 mark in conference play.

The thrilling conference matchup saw both Hobart and St. John Fisher put up impressive numbers. The Statesmen tallied 55 kills (.360) compared to the Cardinals 53 (.417) and held a 53-47 advantage in assists. Hobart also held a 41-34 advantage in digs, while St. John Fisher tallied eight service aces compared to the Statesmen's three. Both sides tallied five total blocks within the four sets.

Graduate student Andrew Kim led Hobart with a match-high 22 kills, hitting .320 in the loss. He added a match-high 13 digs for his fifth double-double of the season. Sophomore Noah DeLong added 14 kills, hitting an impressive .565 clip, and added five digs and two assists. Classmate Daniel Sappia chipped in 13 kills (.308), three digs and two assists for the Statesmen. Graduate student Benjamin Lincoln tallied a match-high 42 assists and added 10 digs for his first double-double of the season. Lincoln also added four kills (.600) in the loss.

St. John Fisher was led by Griffin Stella's 16 kills (.538), two blocks and one dig. Ian Rauh added 11 kills (.600), three service aces and two blocks out of the middle for the Cardinals. Gavin Newman tallied a team-high 40 assists and added five digs and two service aces in the win.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• The Cardinals came out swinging in the opening set and tallied 12 kills (.579) compared to the Statesmen's eight (.222). St. John Fisher found crucial points from its block and from the service line as it combined for four aces and two blocks to grab a 25-17 win in set one.
• Hobart responded well in the second set with 16 kills (.419) but were matched by an efficient Cardinal side with 13 kills (.480). Despite the early lead in set two, St. John Fisher staged a late comeback through the hot hand of Stella to extend its lead to 2-0 with a 25-19 win in set two.
• The Statesmen came out hot in the must-win third set, combining for 16 kills (.467). Hobart held St. John Fisher to 10 kills (.172) and forced five hitting errors as its block stepped up for three big blocks in the third. A kill from Lincoln and a solo block from first-year Kian Kischke closed out the third set with an impressive 25-18 win for the Statesmen.
• The back-and-forth battle continued in the fourth set as both sides put on impressive offensive performances. Hobart put down 15 kills (.286), while St. John Fisher tallied a match-high 18 kills (.486). The Statesmen jumped out to an early lead but saw seven service errors and five hitting errors let the Cardinals back into the match. St. John Fisher grabbed the late momentum and closed out the fourth set on top, 27-25.

MATCH STATS:

• Kim led Hobart with 22 kills, hitting .320 through four sets. DeLong followed with 14 kills, hitting an impressive .565 clip, while Sappia added 14 kills (.308) in the loss.
• Lincoln led the Statesmen from the setter position, tallying a match-high 42 assists. He added 10 digs for his first double-double of the season. Lincoln also added four kills, hitting .600 against the Cardinals.
• The Statesmen combined for 41 digs as a team and were led by Kim with 13. Lincoln chipped in 10, while sophomore libero Gavin Meador added six digs in the setback.
• Hobart tallied five total blocks against St. John Fisher and was led by Kischke with three. First-year Alain Malcolm chipped in two blocks out of the middle, while Kim added one block for the Statesmen.

UP NEXT:
 
Hobart will be back in action Thursday, March 20, when it travels to Thousand Oaks, California, to take on No. 7 California Lutheran. Action against the reigning national champions is set for 9 p.m. (6 p.m. PT) at the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center.