MERCED, Calif. - The 15th-ranked University of California, Merced men's volleyball team rallied from a 1-2 deficit to beat Simpson University in a five-set affair, 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 17-25, 25-22, 15-8) Saturday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.

The Bobcats (10-0) tenth straight win keeps them as one of just three undefeated teams in the country (Grand View, BenU Mesa).

A plethora of Bobcats contributed in the win, but the graduating seniors highlighted the efforts in their last ever regular season home match.

Tyler Vincelli and Ryan Steele split time quarterbacking the offense, finishing with 30 and 19 assists, respectively. Steele also stuffed the stat sheet with 13 digs, eight kills, three blocks and two service aces. 

Joseph Webb, who was able to suit up despite having played in just one match this season due to an injury, was solid and shared team-high with 14 kills on a .370 hitting percentage. 

Emmanuel Egun notched seven kills, three blocks and three aces, while Jacob Semon nearly posted identical tallies with six kills and three blocks. Both middle blockers hit over .300 on the night.

Aside from the five upcoming graduates, Chris Morikawa and Kainoa Ferguson provided a spark with three service aces a piece. Morikawa also shared team-high with 14 kills.

Other individual notables include six digs from Zach Brill and four kills and a solo block from Trevor Jurlina.

In the early going of the match, neither team could create separation and there was no lead larger than three points for the first 47 rallies. There were also eleven first set lead changes, with the last lead change playing in the favor of Simpson as they broke a 20-20 tie with a Gabriel Caliwag kill. The kill started a set-ending 5-1 run and put the Red Hawks up 1-0 in the match.

The Bobcats setback in the opening frame marked just their second first set loss of the season.

Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team rebounded nicely in set two, breaking a 12-12 deadlock and never looking back. Steele was key in creating the separation, notching a kill and then following it up with back-to-back service aces. Other highlights later in the set include both an ace and a kill from Egun, as well as a solo block from Morikawa. Semon also smacked a kill later in the set that finished 25-19 in favor of the Bobcats.

Despite garnering momentum from the set two win, the Bobcats never managed to grab a lead in the third set and trailed by six points as early as the 2-8 mark. The Bobcats trailed by double figures soon after at 3-13 and fell down by as many as eleven points at the 8-19 mark. A Webb kill followed by a Ferguson ace got the Bobcats back into a rhythm. The Bobcats managed to get as close as six points but eventually fell 17-25. 

The fourth set saw three lead changes within the first seven serves, but just two the rest of the set. The Bobcats benefitted from a Simpson service error to take the lead for good, up 9-8. Shortly after, an Egun kill sparked a 5-0 run to put the Bobcats on top 16-10. Up 24-19, the Bobcats failed to capture set point their first three attempts and the margin shrunk to just two points at 24-22. Jurlina staved off the late Simpson run with a kill to win the set 25-22 and extend the match to a fifth frame.

The difference in the fifth set was a pair of 4-0 UC Merced runs. The first run was highlighted by back-to-back solo blocks from Jurlina and Semon to put the Bobcats up 8-4, while the second run was highlighted by Morikawa and the result of the run was a seven-point lead at 13-6. The two teams traded sideouts before a Simpson service error ended the match and allowed the Bobcats to win their second five-set contest of the season.

While five-set affairs have proved to be rare at home, the Bobcats are now 4-1 in five-setters on Hostetler Court dating back to the 2018 campaign. 

The win also improved the Bobcats to 3-0 all-time against Simpson and they will look to better the record when they visit the Red Hawks in Redding, Calif., for the regular season finale. First serve from the James M. Grant Center is scheduled for 8:30pm.