BEREA, Ohio –The Hobart volleyball team closed out the 2026 Baldwin Wallace Invitational with a 3-1 loss to Benedictine, who was receiving votes in this week's AVCA national poll. With the result, the Statesmen fall to 6-9 on the season.
 
Junior Noah DeLong led Hobart with 13 kills (.179), two blocks and one dig, while first-year Harry Fromberg chipped in 10 kills (.278), four digs and two blocks in the loss. Junior Aiden Kemora added nine kills (.217) and five digs, while classmate Daniel Sappia recorded six kills (.000), three digs and one block in the setback.
 
Junior Zack Farren and first-year's Charlie Dugan and Tor Boughal led the Statesmen from the setter position in the loss. Farren went for 22 assists and three digs, while Dugan added eight assists and one dig. Boughal added seven assists and three digs in the loss. Defensively, Kemora led Hobart with five digs.
 
Benedictine was led by Chris Radomski's 16 kills (.310), four digs, one block and one service ace. Spencer VanEngen tallied a match-high 32 assists and added nine digs, four blocks and four kills (.333). Defensively, the Eagles were led by Jordan Cardenas' 14 digs.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• Hobart came out hot in the opening set, combining for 15 kills (.324) as a team and holding Benedictine to a match-low nine kills (.143). The Statesmen forced the Eagles into six hitting errors and closed out the opening set with a 25-18 win thanks to back-to-back kills from Kemora.
• Benedictine responded well in the second set, putting down 10 kills (.125), while holding Hobart to just seven kills (.000). The Statesmen were plagued with errors in the second set, racking up seven hitting errors and handing the Eagles a 25-18 win in set two.
• The Eagles continued on their momentum into the third set, combining for 12 kills (.429) as a team and forcing the Statesmen to a negative hitting percentage (-0.037) as they recorded seven kills and eight hitting errors. Benedictine put together several scoring runs to grab a dominant 25-15 win in set three.
• Benedictine closed out the nonconference battle with an impressive performance in the fourth set as the Eagles put down a match-high 14 kills (.345). The Statesmen fought back with 15 kills (.344) of their own, but Benedictine's block showed up huge down the stretch as it closed out the win with a 26-24 win in set four.

Match stats:

• DeLong led Hobart with 13 kills (.179), while Fromberg chipped in 10 kills (.278) in the loss. Kemora added nine kills (.217) for the Statesmen, while Sappia added six (.000) in the setback.
• Farren and Dugan led Hobart from the setter position, tallying 22 and eight assists each, respectively. The duo also combined for four digs in the loss.
• The Statesmen combined for 26 digs as a team and were led by Kemora with five digs. Fromberg chipped in four digs, while Farren, Sappia and Boughal added three digs each.
• Hobart held a 5-3 edge in blocks in the nonconference showdown and was led by sophomore Kian Kischke with four aces. Kemora added one service ace for the Statesmen.
• The Purple and Orange combined for nine blocks and were led by Kischke and first-year's Nicholas Humphries and Ben Welsh with four blocks each in the loss.  

UP NEXT:
 
Hobart will be back in action Friday, Feb. 20, when it opens UVC play at Vassar. Action between the Statesmen and the Brewers is set for 6 p.m. at Kenyon Hall.