MERCED, Calif. - The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team had the luxury of getting back to competition for the first time in 14 months, however the result didn't finish in their favor and they fell victim of a doubleheader sweep against first-time opponent University of Saint Katherine on Saturday afternoon.

The Bobcats fell 0-3 (17-25, 15-25, 21-25) in match one and 0-3 (20-25, 15-25, 17-25) in match two.

Match One Brief (17-25, 15-25, 21-25)

Returning outside hitter Olivia Harden led the Bobcats offensive attack with a three-set career-high eleven kills, while freshman setter Serena Choi made her collegiate debut and neared a double-double with 18 assists and nine digs. 

Overall, six UC Merced freshmen made their debut. Among the group was Teola Nowak, who led the team in attempts and finished with seven kills and two blocks. Freshman Olanasaze Ojo had five kills on nine attempts to go along with two blocks, including one solo.

As a team, the Bobcats struggled to find a rhythm and held a lead for just eleven of the 128 total serves. The Bobcats also never held a lead larger than two points. On the flipside, the Bobcats trailed by double figures in the first two sets and by at least seven in all three sets.

Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team's best stretch in the match came early in the second set. Big kills from Harden, Nowak and Ojo garnered some Bobcats momentum and a Lexus Lagumbay service ace allowed the Bobcats to take an 11-9 lead. However, Saint Katherine responded with a 16-4 after that to win the set 25-15. 

The ace mentioned above was one of three aces Lagumbay had in the match, tying her career-high. She has delivered multiple service aces eleven times in her career. 

Other notables include a service ace from Jalen Carey and the first career solo block for Valentina Evans. Madison Mayoralgo was good for 13 digs, while Lagumbay matched Choi with nine.

Saturday marked the first time the Bobcats were swept at home since September 22, 2018. The setback also snapped a nine-match winning streak dating back to last season against teams from California. 

Saint Katherine was led by middle blocker Destiny Williams. The Stockton, Calif., native finished with eight blocks and seven kills. Libero Camille Harvey had ten digs.

Match Two Brief (20-25, 15-25, 17-25) 

Match two started off friendlier to the Bobcats than match one did, but it was short lived. The Bobcats led for the first 15 serves, including by as many as four points at both the 7-3 mark and the 8-4 mark. Evans, Harden & Ojo led the efforts in the span, each recording a kill and a block. After a Saint Katherine 4-0 run to even the score, the two teams traded points back and forth for awhile. However, tied 20-20, Saint Katherine scored five straight points to win the set and go up 1-0 in the match.

The Bobcats never led in sets two and three.

Individually, Choi and Ojo upped their numbers from what was already a solid debut. In match two, Choi totaled 18 assists and two service aces, while Ojo tacked on three blocks, including two solo. Freshmen Destiny Lei Ramilo and Tea Bishop pitched in six and four digs, respectively.

While Nowak and Harden were Choi's top target in the first match, Choi went to Harden and Hannah Dillingham the most in the second match. Harden finished with nine kills, marking the second time in her career recording at least nine kills in two consecutive matches.

Dillingham answered Choi's call with four kills, two off from her career-high. Dillingham did set a career-high with two blocks.

Dillingham's fellow classmate, Evans, also set a career-high in blocks with four. Evans has recorded a block in five straight matches dating back to last season.

Other notables include seven digs from Madison Mayoralgo and seven assists from Edwena Wong.

Saint Katherine hit .337 in the sweep and were led by Destiny Williams (12 kills) and Samantha Shaffer (11 kills).

Up next, the Bobcats look to pick up their first win of the season as they host Pacific Union College on Wednesday, February 24 at 4:00pm.