NEW PALTZ, N.Y. –The fourth-seeded Hobart volleyball team rallied to defeat fifth-seeded and 18th-ranked Vassar 3-1 this afternoon in the UVC quarterfinals in New Paltz's Hawk Center. With the win, the Statesmen improve to 14-13 on the season and advance to tomorrow's UVC semifinal round for the first time in program history. The Brewers conclude their season with a 17-10 overall record.

The thrilling conference matchup saw both Hobart and Vassar put up impressive numbers. The Statesmen combined for 56 kills (.281) as a team, while the Brewers put down 44 (.197). Hobart held a 43-40 edge in digs and 6-2 advantage in service aces while Vassar combined for nine blocks compared to the Statesmen's seven. Hobart also held a 55-44 advantage in assists in the quarterfinal matchup.

Three Statesmen put down double-digit kills in the win for Hobart and was led by junior Daniel Sappia's 14 kills (.281). Sappia added seven digs, two solo blocks and one service ace in the win. First-year Harry Fromberg chipped in 12 kills (.526), two digs, two assists, one block and one service ace, while junior Noah DeLong added 11 kills (.200), six assists, five digs, three blocks and one service ace.

Junior Aiden Kemora added eight kills (.083), seven digs and one block for the Statesmen. Sophomores Kian Kischke (.500) and Alain Malcolm (.500) added seven and four kills each out of the middle, respectively. The duo combined for four digs, four blocks and three service aces in the win. Defensively, Hobart was led by junior libero Gavin Meador's 12 digs and two assists.

Vassar was led by Walter Birnbaum's 15 kills (.306), 12 digs and one assist. Henry Bonney added nine kills and one block for the Brewers. Parker Schoenl tallied a match-high 37 assists in the loss for Vassar.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• Hobart came out hot in the opening set, firing off 16 kills (.184) compared to Vassar's 12 (.353). The main difference in the opening set was the Statesmen also tallied nine hitting errors compared to the Brewer's zero. Vassar's block played a key role in the Brewer's taking the opening set, 25-19.
• The Statesmen responded well in the second set, putting down 12 kills (.300), while keeping the Brewers to 12 kills (.200). After trading the early points, Hobart grabbed the late momentum after a big kill from DeLong. The Statesmen would go on a 6-0 run to close out the second set on top, 25-19.
• Hobart continued on its momentum in the third set, firing off a match-high 16 kills (.353), compared to Vassar's 13 kills (.182). Like the previous set, the two sides traded the early points until the Statesmen grabbed the late momentum, securing kills from Fromberg, DeLong and Sappia to close out set three on top, 25-22.
• The Statesmen closed out the thrilling quarterfinal battle with a dominant performance in the fourth set, putting down 12 kills (.308) as a team and holding the Brewers to a match-low seven kills (.000). Hobart jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Purple and Orange brought the energy down the stretch and closed out the win with a 25-18 win in set four thanks to a service ace from DeLong.

MATCH STATS:

• Sappia led the way with 14 kills (.281), while Fromberg added 12 (.526) and DeLong (.200) chipped in 11 kills in the win. Kemora recorded eight kills (.083), while Kischke added seven (.500) out of the middle. Malcolm chipped in four kills (.500) in the win.
• Junior Zack Farren and first-year Tor Boughal led Hobart from the setter position, tallying 22 and 19 assists each, respectively. The duo also combined for six digs in the four-set win.
• The Statesmen combined for 43 digs as a team and were led by Meador's 12 digs. Sappia and Kemora chipped in seven digs each, while Farren and DeLong added five each. Kischke recorded three digs for Hobart.
• Hobart combined for seven total blocks as a team and was led by DeLong and Kischke with three each. Sappia added two, while Kemora, Fromberg and Malcolm chipped in one block each.
• The Purple and Orange served up six aces in the win and were led by Malcolm's two aces. Kischke, DeLong, Fromberg and Sappia added on service ace each in the win.

COACHES CORNER:

"I am so proud of this group of young men with the way we earned the programs first postseason win," said Head Coach Steve England. "We steadied the ship after losing the first set. We reset and started problem solving as a team. We played with no fear, and the results took care of itself. Go Hobart!"

UP NEXT:
 
Hobart will be back in action tomorrow as it takes on top-seeded New Paltz in the UVC semifinals. First serve between the Statesmen and the Hawks is set for 2:30 p.m. in Hawk Center.