MERCED, Calif.  - The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team hit a program-record .521 and extended its winning streak to five matches with a sweep over Pacific Union College, 3-0 (25-8, 25-7, 25-16) on Sunday afternoon inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.

All five Bobcat (5-0) wins have come via the sweep and the Bobcats are now one of just three undefeated teams remaining in the NAIA (BenU Mesa, Grand View).

The .521 hitting percentage bested the previous record of .507 against The Master's University a season ago. 

Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team has hit over .400 twice this year and has hit over .380 in four of the five matches to become the nation's leader leader in hitting percentage. 

Reigning California Pacific Conference Attacker of the Week Jared Guglielmana was a big part of the Bobcats success Sunday as he held match-high with ten kills while swinging at a .571 mark. 

Ryan Kilgore, who has still yet to commit an error this season with 43 attempts, was good for seven kills on eight swings in just the first set. Chris Morikawa was good for six kills, while Emmanuel Egun and Lincoln Smith each had five.

Egun hit 1.000, five kills on five swings. Smith's five kills tied his career-high.

Ryan Steele and Tyler Vincelli quarterbacked the court and recorded 21 and 16 assists, respectively. Steele also had two kills and two blocks, one solo. Vincelli notched his first kill of the season.

Steele was responsible for assists on the Bobcats first seven points, including three assists on Morikawa kills and it allowed the Bobcats to jump out to a 7-2 lead in the first set. After the gap was closed to 9-7, the Bobcats exploded and scored 15 of the last 16 points to earn their biggest set win of the season. Steele was behind the service line for the final eleven points, while Kilgore highlighted the explosion with three kills.

The second set became the Bobcats new biggest set win of the season, 25-7. A 5-0 run created the initial separation and it was followed shortly after by a 9-0 run with Morikawa delivering most of the blows. Morikawa had three service aces during the run, including back-to-back aces at one point. The Bobcats led 16-4 after the 9-0 stretch and the lead was extended to 15 points at the 21-6 mark. The lead continued to grow and set point was scored on Vincelli's kill.

The Bobcats also led for the entire third set after Javier Larranaga broke a 2-2 tie with his first career kill. Joseph Webb's first kill of the 2021 season made it 5-2, while a couple Jacob Semon kills not too long after that had the Bobcats out in front 11-5. The Bobcats led by eight points at 15-7 and by nine points at 18-9.

Guglielmana helped get the Bobcats to the finish line with a dominant stretch. He recorded back-to-back kills for points 21 & 22, before eventually finalizing the contest with a match point kill and a 25-18 win in the third set.

Guglielmana's match point was his tenth kill of the day and he joins Morikawa as the only other Bobcat to post double figure kills in multiple matches this season.

Other notables from Sunday include five digs from Zach Brill and the first career service ace from Christopher Anthony Vang.

The Bobcats are a win away from tying the program's longest ever winning streak. The streak of six straight wins put together by the 2018 roster stretched from March 10-March 29.

Up next, the Bobcats host Park University - Gilbert on Saturday, March 13 at 3:30pm for the first of three weekend matches.