GENEVA, N.Y. –Four different Statesmen tallied double-digit kills as the Hobart volleyball team cruised to a 3-1 conference win over St. John Fisher this afternoon in Bristol Gymnasium. With the win, the Statesmen improve to 8-9 on the season with a 2-0 mark in conference play, while the Cardinals fall to 9-7 overall and 1-3 in the UVC.
 
Hobart put on a dominant performance in the crucial conference victory this afternoon. The Statesmen held a 54-38 advantage in kills and added a 35-30 edge in digs. Hobart held a 6-4 advantage in service aces, while the Cardinals tallied 13 blocks compared to the Statesmen's 10.
 
Junior Noah DeLong led Hobart with 12 kills (.200) in the win. He added four digs and three blocks as well for the Statesmen. Junior Aiden Kemora (.200), sophomore Kian Kishcke (.421) and first-year Harry Fromberg (.250) chipped in 10 kills each in the win. Kemora chipped in four digs, three blocks and one service ace, while Kischke added four blocks, one service ace and one dig. Fromberg tallied three digs, one service ace and one block as well. Sophomore Alain Malcom added eight kills (.615), two blocks, one dig and one service ace out of the middle.
 
St. John Fisher was led by Gabe La Robardiere's eight kills (.286), five blocks and two digs. Sonepith Keoviengsamay (.059) and Guillermo Perez (.400) added six kills each in the loss. Aiden Calhoun tallied a team-high 27 assists, while Luke Zimmerman recorded eight digs in the loss.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• Hobart came out hot in the opening set, putting down 13 kills (.480) as a team compared to St. John Fisher's 11 (.200). The Statesmen's efficient offense matched with their scrappy defense led to a 25-17 win for Hobart in the first set.
• The Statesmen continued to roll in the second set, combining for 13 kills (.417) for the second straight set, while holding the Cardinals to 11 kills (.133). St. John Fisher was forced into seven hitting errors in the second set, handing Hobart a 25-21 win in set two.
• St. John Fisher fought back in the must-win third set and jumped out to 4-1 lead. Both the Statesmen (.129) and the Cardinals (.227) combined for 10 kills in the third set. Hobart fought back and forced the game to extra points, but back-to-back errors by the Statesmen would hand the Cardinals a 27-25 win in set three.
• Hobart bounced back with a dominant performance in the fourth set, putting down 14 kills (.188) while holding St. John Fisher to a match-low six kills (.042). The Statesmen jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. A kill from Kemora would close out the conference battle with a 25-19 win in favor of the Statesmen.

MATCH STATS:

• DeLong led the way with 12 kills (.200), while Kemora (.200), Kischke (.421) and Fromberg (.250 chipped in 10 kills each in the win. Malcolm added eight kills (.615) out of the middle, while junior Daniel Sappia recorded four kills (.143) in the win.
• Junior Zack Farren and first-year Tor Boughal led the Statesmen from the setter position, recording 24 and 15 assists each, respectively. The duo combined for six digs as well. DeLong chipped in six assists against the Cardinals.
• Through four sets, the Statesmen combined for 35 digs as a team and were led by junior libero Gavin Meador and Sappia with eight each. Farren, DeLong and Kemora chipped in four digs each.
• Hobart combined for six service aces as a team and were led by Sappia with two. Kemora, Malcolm, Kischke and Fromberg chipped in one ace each for Hobart.
• The Statesmen combined for 10 blocks in the four-set victory and were led by Kischke with four. DeLong and Kemora chipped in three blocks each while Malcolm and Sappia added two each.

COACHES CORNER:

"Today was a great team win," said Head Coach Steve England. "We executed the game plan from the first point of the game. I am happy with the way we responded after giving away the third set. 2-0 to start UVC play is huge. Go Hobart!"

UP NEXT:
 
Hobart will be back in action on Wednesday, March 4, when it concludes its homestand with a UVC matchup against Nazareth. First serve between the Statesmen and the Golden Flyers is set for 7 p.m. in Bristol Gymnasium.