ANGWIN, Calif. - The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team recorded a program-record .569 hitting percentage and powered across 17 service aces in a road sweep over Pacific Union College, 3-0 (25-10, 25-12, 25-13) Tuesday afternoon under The Covered Wagon.
Prior to today, the Bobcats (9-0) highest hitting percentage was .521 (3/7/2021) and the most ever service aces in a match was 13 (2/20/2021).
The Bobcats also broke the program's single-season sweeps record with their seventh sweep of the season, one above the previous record of six sweeps set in the 2020 campaign.
Ryan Steele and Emmanuel Egun were the Bobcats top contributors on Tuesday. Steele quarterbacked the Bobcats with 25 assists in just two sets of floor time, while Egun accounted for seven of the Bobcats 17 service aces.
Steele's 12+ assists per set average was his best mark since February 17, 2019 against UC Santa Cruz.
Egun's seven service aces broke the program's single-match record. He also made a significant move up the program's all-time record book and is now ranked second with 46 career service aces. Egun passed both Steele and Matthew Pelfini on the all-time list. The senior is now six away from passing Cole Smith as the all-time record holder.
Kainoa Ferguson joined Egun with his stellar play behind the service line. Ferguson tallied six aces in the win, becoming the first ever Bobcat with five or more service aces in two different matches.
As for play at the net, Jared Guglielmana held match-high with nine kills on nine attempts. Chris Morikawa and Jacob Semon were each good for seven kills, while Ferguson and Ryan Kilgore each pitched in four. Semon's kills total marked a career-high. Ferguson's four kills tied his season-high.
Other individual notables include nine assists from Tyler Vincelli, six digs from Zach Brill and two blocks, one solo, from Semon.
One of just three remaining undefeated teams in the country, the Bobcats led for 101 of the 105 serves on Tuesday and got to 20 points in each of the three sets before Pacific Union could even get to ten.
The Bobcats first showed their dominance when Egun delivered five straight service aces to put his team up 14-5 in the opening set. Soon after, four straight kills extended the lead to 20-7. The two teams traded points the rest of the frame before a PUC service error ended the set and the Bobcats went up 1-0 in the match with a 25-10 win.
Trevor Jurlina started the second set with a kill and Ferguson delivered four straight service aces to create the separation. Quickly on top 10-1, the Bobcats gained their first double figure advantage of the set at 15-5 and took their biggest lead at 22-9 after an Aaron Taflinger service ace. Up 24-12, Steele set Lincoln Smith and the Bobcats secured set point on their first try to go up 2-0 in the match.
Vincelli quarterbacked set three for the Bobcats and developed an early rhythm with Smith and Javier Larranaga. He also found Semon for a pair of kills soon after and Lance Nua gave the Bobcats a double figure advantage with one of his two aces on the day. A Kilgore kill had the Bobcats ahead 16-5, while it was a Pacific Union attack error to get the Bobcats to 20 points. The Bobcats scored the final four points of the match, including the final two via overkills to earn the sweep.
The Bobcats are now 3-0 all-time against Pacific Union with three sweeps.
Tuesday's match also marked the Bobcats first match since the five-set win over Park University - Gilbert on March 14. The eight-day in season layoff is the longest since early in the 2019 season.
Up next, the Bobcats host Simpson University on Saturday, March 27 in the regular season home finale. First serve is scheduled for 8:30pm.
