MERCED, Calif. - The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team played their first five-set affair of the season and came out victorious, beating Park University - Gilbert 3-2 (25-22, 25-19, 24-26, 20-25, 15-12) on Sunday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium to remain one of the three unbeaten teams in the country.

Tyler Vincelli and Jared Guglielmana led the Bobcats efforts in the longest game of the season, tallying 42 assists and 19 kills, respectively.

Vincelli's assists total tied his career-high. Guglielmana's kills total set a career-high, besting his previous mark of 12 which was set in his collegiate debut. The freshman also hit .452 in the victory.

Ryan Kilgore also notched a career-high and got into double figures for the second time in his career with 13 kills. Javier Larranaga and Jacob Semon each added six kills. The mark was a career-high for Larranaga, while the six figure tied Semon's season-high. Larranaga also had a career-high three blocks, one solo.

Liberos Zach Brill and Aaron Taflinger aided the defensive efforts with eleven and eight digs, respectively. Brill's play added to his career digs total and he passed Ben Nilsen for second all-time on the program's all-time digs list. Brill now has 235 career digs.

As a team, the Bobcats were hot out of the gates and not only scored the game's first three points, but were also the first to double figures and the first team to 20. Up 21-19, Larranaga combined with Lincoln Smith to deny the opponent's Nico Guiterrez to inch closer to set point. After a Buccaneer kill, Guglielmana answered with a kill of his own, his fourth of the set to put the Bobcats up 23-20. Soon after, a Park - Gilbert service error ended the set as the Bobcats won it 25-22 to go up 1-0 in the match.

Set two was close in the early goings with nine lead changes and no lead larger than two points. It wasn't until the Bobcats broke a 13-13 tie that they created a sizable separation. With Kainoa Ferguson behind the service line, the Bobcats scored eight straight points that was highlighted by a pair of Semon overkills. Ferguson had one of his two total aces during the surge that put the Bobcats up 21-13. Park - Gilbert managed to score a few points after the Bobcats run before a Larranaga kill put the Bobcats up 2-0 in the match.

The Bobcats had to play catchup for the first time in the third set as they found themselves trailing 3-7 and by three points later on at 14-17. The Bobcats managed to pull even at 19-19 and grabbed a 21-20 lead after a Zach Brill service ace. Tied 23-23 shortly after and up 2-0 in the match, Kilgore smacked a kill to give the Bobcats their first opportunity at match point. However, an attack error tied the set 24-24 and Park - Gilbert scored two more points in a row to extend the match. 

The fourth set was not friendly to the Bobcats. UC Merced trailed for all but the first four serves and was down five points as early as the 4-9 mark. The Bobcats biggest deficit in the set was eight points at 7-15, 9-17 and 10-18. A 4-1 UC Merced run allowed the Bobcats to garner some momentum before ultimately falling 20-25.

The loss in the fourth set meant the Bobcats were going to a fifth set in a conference game for the first time since March 16, 2019. It was the first time in any home game since February 15, 2019.

In new territory for this year's Bobcat squad, head coach Ai Prachumsri's team scored the first point and benefitted from opponent attack errors to go up 3-1. The Bobcats also led by two at 6-4 before finding themselves trailing 8-9. A Buccaneer error tied the fifth set 9-9 and the Bobcats broke the tie from there and never looked back. A Guglielmana kill put the Bobcats up 12-10 and another Guglielmana kill a few serves later set up match point up 14-12. Ferguson was the Bobcat serving for match point and it would come on that rally due to a Park - Gilbert error, allowing the Bobcats to win 15-12 and improve to 8-0 on the year.

The Bobcats are now 3-1 all-time against Park - Gilbert and 8-6 all-time in five-set contests under Prachumsri.

Looking ahead, the Bobcats hit the road for the first time this season as they visit Pacific Union College on Tuesday, March 23 in Angwin, Calif. First serve is scheduled for 7:30pm.