Stevens sweeps Hobart in KP’S Division III Game Of The Week

Number four-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology swept 11th-ranked Hobart (27-25, 25-15, 25-21) on their home court Friday night.  On Wednesday the Ducks came off a loss to number one ranked NYU and Hobart went into the contest riding high with a (13-1) record.

In Set one Hobart found themselves up early and in control of the match.  They relied heavily on the outside hitter and graduate student Andrew Kim.  During his undergraduate planning days, Kim played at Vassar where he was named the NCAA Division III player of the year in 2023.  Due to the Covid seasons, he was granted a few extra years, like everyone else in that era, and enrolled in Hobart’s graduate business school.

Toward the end of the set one, Hobart found themselves up 24-22.  The Ducks crawled back in the match and won the set 27-25. “We had an opportunity to take the first set.  Stevens was able to produce better swings to win the set,” said Hobart Head Coach Stephen England.

In set two, Stevens used that momentum and dominated.  They continued to apply good service pressure and ran a balanced offense.  The Ducks at one point were up by 12 and won the set (25-15).

Hobart regrouped in the third set.  Held some two-point leads early in the set, but the Ducks’ consistent play earned them the (25-21) set three and match victory.  After the match Coach England shared his thoughts, “It was a great learning experience for us to know what it takes to play on the road against a top-five program.  We will rebound and get better from the match,” said Coach England.

Stevens had four players recording over seven kills.  Out of the middle Greg Li had 10 kills, zero errors, and hit .769. Fellow middle Tyler Hoke followed Li’s lead with zero attacking errors, and hit .462 with six kills.  Koby Sherman and Alex Olcott both contributed seven kills.  The Ducks hit an impressive .340 hitting percentage for the match and played clean. “Greg and Talor had favorable matchups we surely wanted to exploit, but I did not anticipate their being errorless and Greg going off like that.  He really went career, albeit young, last night,” said Stevens Head Coach Dan Buerhring.

For Hobart Andrew Kim was the standout player with 18 kills while hitting .343.  The Statesman struggled to get offense from the rest of the starters and hit .206 as a team for the match.  The 18 attacking, 10 service, two blocking and three receiving errors made a big difference in the match.

Getting back in the win column was important to Stevens who now have an overall record of (9-2).  “Coach England always has well-organized teams, and Andrew Kim was a super difficult guy to stop.  I thought we hung tough through the first then went in and out of finding a super high level as a younger group.  That consistency is what we are finding as work on habits we need to upgrade,” said Coach Buerhing.

Prior to the match, I reached out to both programs.  The coaches and SID’S were very helpful in providing me with a great deal of information.  Both programs have passionate coaches, high-level academics, and good cultures.

Stevens Institute of Technology:

Volleyball History:

– Two National Championships (2015 and 2023).

– Nine Middle Atlantic Conference Championships.

-The Ducks currently have won 57 straight home matches!

– Programs Head Coaches (Patrick Dorywalski, 1989-2020 & Dan Buehring 2020-Current).

Stevens Facts and Academic Information:

–Located next to the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey.

– Founded in 1870 and is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States.

– A little over 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

-There are three schools that offer technology-based Stem (engineering, mathematics, science, and technology).  They also offer degrees in arts, humanities, social sciences, and business.

-35 undergraduate programs, 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio.  Graduate schools offer over 20 Ph.D. programs and 58 master’s programs.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Volleyball History:

– 2024 was the first season for Hobart men’s volleyball. Lost in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

– Member of the United Volleyball Conference.

-Second-year program that has compiled a 31-12 record through 1.5 seasons.

-Went 18-11 in year 1. Was the No. 5 seed in UVC tournament and lost to No. 4 MIT in the quarterfinals.

-13-2 to start the second season with wins over No. 19 Lasell, No. 14 Misericordia, and RV Mount Union.

-Led by Andrew Kim who broke the NCAA DIII Men’s Volleyball career kills record this season

(1,534). He now sits at 1,648 career kills.

-In 2024, Kim was an AVCA first team All-American, the AVCA regional player of the year, and a UVC

first-team all-conference selection.

– Steve England has been the only coach of the Hobart volleyball program. He is in his second

season in charge of the Statesmen.

Hobart Facts and Academic Information:

-49 majors and three graduate programs at HWS.

-Hobart and William Smith Colleges (HWS) is located in Geneva, N.Y. right on Seneca Lake.

-HWS is a private liberal arts institution.

-Total student enrollment is roughly above 1,800 students.

-30 varsity teams, roughly 45% of students at HWS are student-athletes.

-HWS has combined for 25 team national championships and has produced more than 690 All-Americans through the years.

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