GENEVA, N.Y.—The 16th-ranked Hobart volleyball team split action on day two of the Hobart volleyball tournament as it swept Hartwick 3-0 before falling in a five-set thriller to Buffalo State, who was receiving votes in this week's AVCA national poll. With the results, the Statesmen sit at 3-1 on the season.
 
Junior Daniel Sappia led Hobart this afternoon with 13 kills (.385) and three digs through five sets. Classmate Noah DeLong chipped in 10 kills (.364), two digs and a service ace, while first-year Harry Fromberg added 10 kills (.032) and two blocks.
 
Sophomore Lawson Drabik put down nine kills in the win over the Hawks. He added two blocks, one ace and one dig in the win. First-year's Maxwell Stotsky (.231) and Ben Welsh (1.000) added eight kills each for Hobart. Stotsky chipped in six digs, and one solo block, while Welsh added three blocks, one ace and one dig for the Statesmen.
 
First-year setter Charlie Dugan led Hobart with 34 assists, six digs and one service ace on the afternoon. Junior Zack Farren added 21 assists and seven digs, while first-year Tor Boughal chipped in 17 assists, and three digs. Defensively, junior libero Gavin Meador led the way with nine digs, one assist and one kill.

MATCH MOMENTS:
 
Match 1 (Hartwick):

• Hobart came out hot in the opening set, putting down 12 kills (.611) compared to Hartwick's eight (.105). The Statesmen forced the Hawks into six hitting errors and grabbed the opening set 25-17.
• The Statesmen continued on their momentum into set two, putting down 12 kills (.259) again, while holding the Hawks to eight kills (.136) for the second straight set. A 3-0 scoring run would close out set two in favor of Hobart 25-21.
• Hobart closed out the sweep with a match-high 13 kills (.385) in the third set. Hartwick responded well and combined for 10 kills (.160), but a kill from junior Nate Magni would close out the sweep with a 25-22 win.

Match stats:

• Drabik led the way for the Statesmen with a career-high nine kills (.444). Stotsky (.231) and Welsh (1.000) added eight kills each, which was career-highs as well. Junior Nathan Deller chipped in five kills (.364) in the win.
• Boughal led Hobart from the setter position with a career-high 17 assists and three digs in the sweep. Dugan added 13 assists and five digs for Hobart.
• The Statesmen combined for 20 digs in the win and were led by Dugan with five digs. Senior Harrison Keena added four digs, while Boughal chipped in three. Deller and senior Nico Diaz-Aguilar added two digs each through three sets.
• Hobart dominated at the net and tallied eight blocks as a team. Welsh led the way with three, while Magni and junior Grayson Getz chipped in two blocks each.

Match 2 (Buffalo St.):

• Hobart started hot in the second match of the day, combining for 13 kills (.417) as a team, while holding Buffalo St. to a match-low six kills (.056). The Statesmen block was key for them in the opening set, as it propelled Hobart to a 25-18 win in set one.
• The Bengals responded well in the second set as they shot out to a 7-2 lead to open set. Hobart chipped away at Buffalo St.'s lead and was led by Sappia's five kills but the comeback fell just short as the Bengals closed out set two on top 25-23.
• The back-and-forth battle continued in the third set as the two sides combined for five tie scores and four lead changes. Sappia once again led the way for the Statesmen with five kills as Hobart regained the lead with a tight 25-23 win in set three.
• Buffalo St. bounced back in the fourth set with an impressive performance to force a decisive fifth set. The Bengals put down eight kills (.200) and forced Hobart to six hitting errors as it grabbed a 25-17 win in set four.
• Hobart jumped out to a 4-0 lead before a 7-0 scoring run from Buffalo St. changed the momentum of the final frame. The Bengals put down seven kills (.238) and held the Statesmen to four kills (-0.083) in the final set as it stormed back to grab a 15-10 win in set five.

Match stats:

• Sappia led the way with 13 kills (.385) in the loss. DeLong (.364) and Fromberg (.032) chipped in 10 kills each, while sophomore Alain Malcolm added seven kills (.235) out of the middle. Junior Aiden Kemora and sophomore Kian Kischke put down five kills each in the setback.
• Farren and Dugan tallied 21 assists each through five sets. Farren added seven digs, while Dugan chipped in one dig and one ace for Hobart.
• The Statesmen combined for 42 digs as a team and were led by Meador with nine. Kemora chipped in eight digs, while Farren added seven. Stotsky recorded five digs in the loss for Hobart.
• Hobart tallied six service aces against Buffalo St. and was led by Kischke with three. DeLong, Malcolm and Dugan added one ace each in the loss.

UP NEXT:
 
Hobart will be back in action Jan. 23-24 when it travels to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, for the Juniata Tournament. The Statesmen will take on Eastern Mennonite on Friday at 6 p.m. before going toe-to-toe with Widener at 11 a.m., and No. 3 Juniata at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.