No. 3 NYU and No. 4 Hobart College advanced to the 2026 UVC Championship Semifinals after earning wins in first round action from the Hawk Center on the campus of SUNY New Paltz on Friday, April 10. Hobart began the day by defeating No. 5 seed Vassar College in four sets, while NYU knocked off No. 6 St. John Fisher University in three sets.
 
The Statesmen of Hobart will take on host and top-seed SUNY New Paltz in the first semifinal at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, while NYU and No. 2 MIT will meet in the second semifinal at 5 p.m. Saturday. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2026 UVC Championship on Sunday at 2 p.m. The 2026 UVC Champion will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship Tournament.
 
NO. 4 HOBART 3, NO. 5 VASSAR 1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-18)
Hobart College (14-13) won its first UVC postseason match in program history, rallying to defeat Vassar College in four sets on Friday evening. Vassar won the opening set, 25-19, before Hobart came storming back to win the next three sets, 25-19, 25-22, 25-18.
 
The thrilling UVC Tournament 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.

"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!"

Walter Birnbaum led Vassar with 15 kills and 12 digs, while Armaan Desai added eight kills and six blocks. Parker Schoenl dished out 37 assists for the Brewers.
  
NO. 3 NYU 3, NO. 6 ST. JOHN FISHER 0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-15)
No. 3 seed NYU (19-5), the ninth-ranked team in Division III, hit .423 overall as a team and a regular season loss to defeat No. 6 seed St. John Fisher University (19-11) in three sets, 25-21, 25-23, 25-15.

NYU, the two-time defending UVC Champions, had 57 points to 36 from St. John Fisher. The Violets trailed 18-15 in the opening set before rattling off 10 of the final 13 points.

Emerson Evans, the 2026 UVC Player of the Year, led all student-athletes with 16 kills, while hitting .560. Charlie Clifford, the 2026 UVC Rookie of the Year, hit .440 with 13 kills, while Devyn Nguyen dished out 36 assists and Bennet Tchaikovsky, the UVC Libero of the Year, had 10 digs.
 
Gabe La Robardiere led St. John Fisher with eight kills, while hitting .538. Casey Jackson added seven kills and nine digs.

Looking ahead to the semifinal matchups, earlier in the season, No. 4 seed Hobart defeated top-seed SUNY New Paltz (25-12, 22-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-10) in a five-set thriller on March 27, while No. 2 MIT defeated No. 3 NYU in five sets (22-25, 17-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-11) at home on March 7.

2026 UVC Championship Schedule (All matches at SUNY New Paltz)

Friday, April 10 – First Round
No. 4 Hobart College defeated No. 5 Vassar College, 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-18) – BOX SCORE 
No. 3 NYU defeated No. 6 St. John Fisher University, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-15) – BOX SCORE 

Saturday, April 11 – Semifinals
No. 4 Hobart at No. 1 SUNY New Paltz – 2:30 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
No. 3 NYU vs. No. 2 MIT – 5 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS

Sunday, April 12 - Championship
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2 – 2 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS