LA GRANDE, Ore. - The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team concluded its season in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round on Saturday evening, falling 0-3 (13-25, 17-25, 9-25) to eighth ranked Eastern Oregon University inside the Quinn Coliseum.
The Bobcats finish their season, which was highlighted by the first California Pacific Conference Tournament Championship in program history, 7-7 overall.
Lexus Lagumbay held team-high with seven kills and shared team-high with six digs in the Bobcats first ever national tournament appearance. Edwena Wong was the other Bobcat with six digs.
Setter Serena Choi held match-high with 16 assists and also tallied four digs, two kills and a service ace.
Olivia Harden was good for five kills, while Olanasaze Ojo pitched in four kills and combined with Teola Nowak for a block. Madison Mayoralgo and Destiny Lei Ramilo had five digs.
Eighth-ranked Eastern Oregon was the fifth highest ranked team the Bobcats have ever played in program history. Mountaineers setter Madison Pilon recorded a double-double and ran the offense to a .343 success rate. Middle blockers Cambree Scott and Jet Taylor each had eight kills, six blocks and a .500+ hitting percentage.
Eastern Oregon led for nearly the entire match, including for the entirety of the first and third set. The Mountaineers grabbed double figure leads in both those frames, as early as the 20-10 mark (1st set) and 16-6 mark (3rd set).
The tightest set was the second set. The Bobcats led 1-0 and 2-1, and were tied with Eastern Oregon 8-8 later on. However, Eastern Oregon broke the 8-8 tie with a 10-1 run to create separation. The two teams essentially traded points until the scoreboard read 25-17 in favor of EOU.
Eastern Oregon has 17 wins on the year, eleven of them coming via the sweep.
In total, the NAIA had 24 Opening Round matches on Saturday. 18 of the 24 matches ended in three sets. 21 of the 24 home teams won their match and advanced to championship pool play in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Bobcats will return 94% of their roster in the fall of 2021. The lone senior, Madison Mayoralgo, finishes her career ranked fourth in program history with 760 digs, eighth with 304 sets played and tenth with 108 assists.
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