January 11, 2024
The first Thursday of the season saw several games on the schedule including the first half of a two-day tournament at SUNY Potsdam. #29 Nichols, #49 Hobart, and #103 Wells traveled to #62 SUNY Potsdam for the quad and we had our first chance to see new program Hobart take the floor. Nichols earned a top 30 spot in the IH preseason ranking, and we expect them to be the top team in the NEVC.
The Bison were the winners for the day as they took down both Hobart and the Wells Express. Hobart impressed in their first match of the season with a convincing win over the host Bears. Andrew Kim picked up right where he left off at Vassar last season, as the transfer and graduate student for Hobart blasted 45 kills on the day in the two matches played.
Hobart played Nichols extremely even, taking the first set 25-20, and then losing three very close sets, with 2 sets going 25-23. Overall points in the match favored Nichols 95-91, indicating Hobart’s upside potential in the rankings.
We spoke with Andrew after the match, and he remained super upbeat about the progress made with the Statesmen. He shared “I’d like to reiterate just how awesome of a sport volleyball is. Despite any person’s performance, there’s always room for growth and it feels amazing to get back into the ebbs and flows of the sport I love.” Being a grad student, sorry… an All-American grad student, and working with mostly inexperienced players makes for a tough transition. But Andrew approaches it perfectly. “Leading a team full of first year collegiate volleyball players has been no easy task, but I’m looking forward to take the court with these young men for the next two years. I believe that there’s something special going on here. We’re not the best, but if you saw what this team looked like in September, you would know just how much this team has grown in a physical, mental, and emotional way.” said Kim. We believe him and expect Hobart to be pushing into the top 30 soon.
Both SUNY Potsdam and Hobart were 1-1 on the day with Wells losing both of their matches. Some other shoutouts for those teams at Potsdam:
Very nice start for freshman Daniel Sapia from Hobart who posted 27 kills for his first 2 games of the season. The Ocean Bay VBC product from Wellington, Florida should get plenty of sets as evidenced by his 64 attacks registered today.
6’7″ Middle Hitter Matt Kilinski was the Bears top performer today notching 22 kills on the day. But his first game against Wells was particularly impressive as he hit .714, had 16 kills, and 6 blocks.
Graduate student Jack Normandin had 24 kills and hit .327 for the Bison in 2 games today. The former Rivier 5-year player appears to be a solid addition for Nichols at outside.
How about that Potsdam facility? It looked super impressive from the live feed.
Sophomore Harrison Keena had a solid day for the Express, leading the team in kills, digs, and receptions.
Regis took D1 American International to five sets after missing a big opportunity in a set two that went 30-28 in AIC’s favor. Senior Joe Perez kept Regis close all match, ending with 25 kills, 8 digs, and 2 blocks.
Lots of volleyball on the schedule Friday and Saturday. Live feeds available for almost all games on the team’s schedule pages.
IH