The Hobart volleyball team will be back in action as it hosts the 2026 Statesmen Tournament this weekend, Jan. 31-Feb 1.
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Additionally, the Statesmen landed at No. 20 in this week's AVCA national poll. It is the third-straight week Hobart has been ranked in the AVCA national poll.
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THE SCHEDULE
Saturday, Jan. 31
Hobart vs. NJCU – 1 p.m.
Nazareth vs. Trine – 3 p.m.
Hobart vs. Trine – 5 p.m.
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Sunday, Feb. 1
Nazareth vs. NJCU – 11 a.m.
Trine vs. NJCU – 1 p.m.
Hobart vs. Nazareth – 3 p.m.
ABOUT THE STATESMEN
- Hobart is 3-4 on the season after falling in five sets to No. 13 New Paltz and No. 3 Juniata on Saturday.
- Junior Daniel Sappia leads Hobart offensively, averaging 2.75 kills per set. First-year Harry Fromberg and junior Noah DeLong follow with 1.96 and 1.95 kills per set, respectively.
- In the setter position, junior Zack Farren leads the Statesmen, averaging 4.94 assists per set. First-year Charlie Dugan adds to Hobart's offense with 4.15 assists per set.
- Junior libero Gavin Meador leads the team defensively with 2.18 digs per set, while classmate Aiden Kemora contributes 1.29 digs per set.
- At the net, sophomore Kian Kischke leads the Statesmen with 1.05 blocks per set.
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
- NJCU is 4-0 on the season and is coming off a 3-0 sweep of Ramapo on Tuesday.
- Marcus Pardasie leads the team offensively, averaging 4.0 kills per set. Matt Peralta follows with 2.09 kills per set.
- Alex Casais runs the Knights' offense and averages a team-leading 8.73 assists per set.
- Nasir Paige leads NJCU defensively, averaging 2.14 digs per set. Pardasie adds 1.60 digs per set.
- At the net, Alaittim De Leon averages a team-leading 1.0 blocks per set, while Victor De Souza adds 0.92 blocks per set.
- Saturday will be the first meeting in program history between Hobart and NJCU.
ABOUT THE THUNDER
- Trine enters the weekend with a 3-4 overall record after falling to No. 10 Aurora 3-0 and Illinois Wesleyan 3-1 on Saturday.
- John Mikrut and Johnson-Kuhao Ho'okano-Pelekai lead the offense with 2.8 and 2.48 kills per set, respectively.
- Xander Ikusz averages a team-leading 8.20 assists per set. Bryce Tupaz adds 7.14 assists per set.
- Defensively, Dalton Lutes leads with 2.78 digs per set. Ho'okano-Pelekai adds 1.68 digs per set for the Thunder.
- At the net, Karl Both averages .80 blocks per set to lead the team.
- Saturday will be the first meeting in program history between the Statesmen and the Thunder.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN FLYERS
- Nazareth is 6-2 to open the season and is on a five-game win streak. The Golden Flyers are coming off a 3-0 win over Nichols on Saturday. Â
- Tristan Henderson leads Nazareth offensively, averaging 3.0 kills per set. Ryan Murphy adds 2.71 kills per set.
- AJ Burda averages a team-leading 9.12 assists per set while Daniel Mangan adds 4.75 assists per set.
- Defensively, Gavin Sweet leads the team with 1.36 digs per set. Quintin Chiles follows with 1.17 digs per set.
- At the net, Murphy tallies a team-leading 0.75 blocks per set for Nazareth.
- Hobart and Nazareth have split the all-time series (1-1) with each team winning in their home gym. Last season, the Golden Flyers defeated the Statesmen 3-1 in Rochester.
