The Hobart volleyball team will travel to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, to compete in the inaugural Kevin Pratte Foundation Invitational this weekend, hosted by Juniata. The Statesmen will face Widener on Friday, Jan. 23 at 5:30 p.m. Hobart will resume play Saturday to take on No. 13 New Paltz at 11 a.m. and No. 3 Juniata at 1:30 p.m.
 
Additionally, the Statesmen landed at No. 19 in this week's AVCA national poll. Hobart is ranked for the second-straight week after going 3-1 in the Hobart Tournament last weekend, defeating Russell Sage, then No. 20 Misericordia and Hartwick before falling in a five-set thriller to Buffalo State.
 
ABOUT THE STATESMEN

• First-Year Harry Fromberg led Hobart offensively, averaging 2.25 kills per set. Juniors Daniel Sappia and Noah DeLong followed with 2.20 kills per set each in opening weekend.
• Junior Zack Farren led in the setter position, averaging 4.77 assists per set, while first-year Charlie Dugan chipped in 4.25 assists per set. First-year Tor Boughal ran Hobart's offense in the sweep of Hartwick and averaged 5.67 assists per set in the win.
• Defensively, junior libero Gavin Meador averaged a team-leading 1.25 digs per set. Junior Aiden Kemora follows with 1.23 digs per set. Senior Harrison Keena wore the libero jersey in the win over the Hawks and averaged 1.33 digs per set in the sweep.
• First-year Ben Welsh and junior Grayson Getz led at the net, averaging 1.0 blocks per set. Sophomore Kian Kischke recorded a team-leading seven blocks, while Fromberg chipped in six.

ABOUT THE PRIDE

• Widener went 1-1 on opening weekend, defeating Cairn before falling to NJCU.
• Stephen Marquis leads the Pride offensively, averaging 3.50 kills per set. Christian Wannamaker and Quinby Dahl added 2.5 kills per set each.
• Jason Sandberg averages a team-leading 8.75 assists per set for Widener.
• Defensively, Dahl leads the team with 2.13 digs per set, while Jarrett Edwards adds 1.83 digs.
• At the net, Josh Akinwale leads the team with seven blocks.
• Saturday will be the first meeting between Hobart and Widener in program history.

ABOUT THE HAWKS

• New Paltz is 1-0 this season after its season opening 3-1 win over Kean on Wednesday.
• Nikko Tenedorio leads the Hawks offensively, averaging 4.25 kills per set. Peter Brutschin adds 4.0 kills per set for New Paltz.
• Daniel Shanley runs the Hawks offense, averaging 10.50 assists per set.
• Defensively, Shanley averages a team-leading 3.00 digs per set, while Geoff Ndoria adds 2.5 digs per set.
• At the net, Michael Spiegel and Mike Handell lead the team with four blocks each.
• Saturday will be the third meeting between Hobart and New Paltz. The series is split 1-1 with each team winning in their home gym. Last season, the Hawks defeated the Statesmen 3-2 in a UVC match in New Paltz.

ABOUT THE EAGLES

• Juniata is 5-0 to open the season and is coming off of sweeps of Trine and St. Vincent last weekend.
• Felix Baier leads the Eagles offensively, averaging 3.42 kills per set. Octavian Sperry adds 3.22 kills per set.
• Will Sierer averages a team-leading 10.6 assists per set.
• Defensively, Andrew Byrne leads the team with 2.14 digs per set, while Tyler Phillips adds 1.75 digs per set for Juniata.
• At the net, Dante Palombo has recorded a team-leading 14 blocks, while Phillips adds 10 blocks on the season.
• Juniata is 1-0 against Hobart in program history. The Eagles defeated the Statesmen 3-2 on March 16, 2024, in Huntingdon.