Poughkeepsie, NY - The #18 Vassar College Men's Volleyball team begins its chase for a third UVC title on Friday evening as the fifth-seeded Brewers will take on fourth-seeded Hobart at 5:00 p.m. in the First Round of the UVC Championship on the campus of top-seeded SUNY New Paltz.

Admission (CASH ONLY)

• $7.00 - Adults
• $5.00 - Seniors and Students with ID
• Free - Children under 12

Quick Glance

• Vassar enters the postseason at 17-9 overall and 3-4 in UVC regular season matchups and have won eight of their last nine matches.
• The Brewers have earned five victories over nationally-ranked opponents, including wins over #1 Springfield and #3 Stevens.
• Vassar leads the country and the UVC in blocks per set at 2.56 and is second in the conference and 23rd in the country in opponent hitting percentage at .174.
• VC finished the regular season hitting .275 as team, good for fourth in the conference and sixth in the league in kills per set at 11.73.

A Look at the Brewers

• Vassar is led by reigning All-American and 2026 All-UVC First Team selection junior Armaan Desai, who is currently ranked third in the country in blocks per set at 1.18 and is seventh nationally in solo blocks with 26. Desai has already recorded new career-highs in kills (173), kills per set (2.34), solo blocks (26), total blocks (88), blocks per set (1.19), points (244) and points per set (3.30) this season.
• Desai's 26 solo blocks ranks second all-time in a single season, trailing former All-American Matthew Knigge who finished with 29 in 2016.
• Junior Walter Birnbaum leads the team in kills with 238, aces with 26 and is second on the team in digs with 135 and total blocks with 50.
• All-UVC Second Team selection sophomore Henry Bonney ranks second on the squad in kills with 195 and is hitting .352 on the season. He also has added eight aces and 43 total blocks.
• Junior Parker Schoenl is the team leader in assists with 684 and has added 10 aces and 29 total blocks.
• Sophomore Petar Miocinovic has chipped in 106 kills, 20 aces and 109 digs, all ranking in the top-five on the team.
• Senior James Zuckerman is fourth on the squad in total blocks with 41 and has added 57 kills.
• Senior Casey McMenamin leads the team in digs with a career-high 190.

Scouting the Statesmen

• Aidan Kemora leads the Statesmen in kills with 198 and is third on the team in digs with 97.
• Noah DeLong is second on the squad in kills with 195 and third on the team in blocks with 41.
• Kian Kischke is the team leader in blocks with 75, aces with 41 and fifth in kills with 109.
• Harry Fromberg is third in kills with 190 and fourth in blocks with 36 while Daniel Sappia is fourth in kills with 184 and second in digs with 120.
• Zack Farren leads the squad in assists with 436 while Charlie Dugan has handed out 274 assists and Tor Boughal has added 167 assists.
• Gavin Meador is the team leader in digs with 162 and Alain Malcolm is second in blocks with 48.
• As a team, Hobart ranks last in the conference in kills pet set at 14.45 and sixth in hitting percentage at .241.
• The Statesmen are third in the league in blocks per set at 2.02 and are fifth in opponent hitting percentage at .188.

Regular Season Matchup

• Hobart won a marathon five-set matchup on February 20 in Kenyon Hall in the lone regular season matchup as the Statesmen came back from a 2-1 deficit.
• Vassar outhit Hobart .248 to .219 in the matchup while the Brewers held a slim 10-9 edge in blocks.
• Kemora led the way for Hobart with 18 kills and Fromberg tallied 13 kills and four blocks.
• Birnbaum posted 14 kills, two aces and two blocks for the Brewers while Desai recorded 11 kills, three aces and four blocks.

UVC Recent Championship History

• Vassar has qualified for the UVC Championship every season since 2014 (excluding 2020 due to COVID-19) and have won the conference crown twice (2021, 2023).
• Hobart has earned a spot in the conference championship in all three seasons of existence.
• This marks the second straight season that the Brewers and the Statesmen have matched up in the first round as Vassar swept Hobart in 2025.

League Leaders

• Desai leads the conference in hitting percentage at 4.22 as well as blocks per set at 1.19.
• Bonney is fourth in the league in hitting percentage (.352), third in kills per set (3.42) and third in points per set at 3.99.
• McMenamin ranks fourth in the league in digs per set at 2.24.
• Kischke leads the conference in assists per set at 0.48 and Meador is third in the conference in digs per set at 2.31.

Final 2026 United Volleyball Conference Championship Seeds

1. New Paltz (6-1 UVC, 21-6 Overall)
2. MIT (5-2 UVC, 20-7 Overall)
3. NYU (5-2 UVC, 18-5 Overall)
4. Hobart (5-2 UVC, 13-13 Overall)
5. Vassar (3-4 UVC, 17-9 Overall)
6. St. John Fisher (3-4 UVC, 19-10 Overall)

Conference Championship Slate

• First Round - Friday, April 10
  • (5) #18 Vassar vs (4) Hobart - 5:00 p.m.
  • (6) St. John Fisher vs (3) #9 NYU - 7:30 p.m.
• Semifinals - Saturday, April 11
  • Winner of 4/5 vs (1) #7 New Paltz - 2:30 p.m.
  • Winner of 3/6 vs (2) #19 MIT - 5:00 p.m.
• Final - Sunday, April 12
  • Semifinal winners - 2:00 p.m.

What's At Stake

• The winner of Friday's First Round matchup will take on top-seeded #7 New Paltz at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.