REDDING, Calif. - The 15th-ranked University of California, Merced men's volleyball team made more history last night, sweeping Simpson University 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-17) to finish off the regular season undefeated for the first time ever.
The Bobcats (11-0), one of three undefeated teams in the country heading into championship month, won 33 of 38 sets this year and earned a sweep in eight of their eleven Cal Pac matches.
The Bobcats eleven-match winning streak is also historical, as they now hold the longest winning streak of any team, in any sport, in UC Merced history.
As for how the winning streak stacks up amongst the nation, the Bobcats are now one of just nine teams to ever win eleven consecutive matches since men's volleyball became a championship sport in the NAIA.
Sophomore Chris Morikawa shared match-high with eleven kills in the win while recording a stellar .417 hitting percentage. Morikawa finished with double figure kills in seven of eleven matches this year.
Jared Guglielmana was good for eight kills, while Jacob Semon and Trevor Jurlina each neared a season-high with six kills. Semon and Jurlina each had two blocks. Semon hit .556, six kills on nine attempts, just one error.
Ryan Steele was the Bobcat setting up the scoring opportunities, recording 23 assists and running the offense to a .303 success rate.
Zach Brill and Kainoa Ferguson were also solid in the victory, recording eleven digs and two service aces, respectively. Ferguson also had three kills and a block, as did Emmanuel Egun.
Other notables include the second career solo block from Ryan Kilgore and an ace from Morikawa.
Morikawa's ace moved him into sixth on the program's all-time list with 31 career aces, passing up Jacob Shelton.
A second program notable includes Brill. With Brill appearing in all three sets last night, the libero becomes the tenth player in program history to appear in 200 career sets. The only other active players with that much experience are Steele and Joseph Webb.
The Bobcats are the fourth team in school history to finish their conference slate without a blemish. The other teams include women's basketball (2015-16), men's soccer (2018-19) and women's soccer (2021).
Looking ahead, the Bobcats will enter the California Pacific Conference Jamboree as the #2 overall seed and will host Simpson University on Tuesday, April 6 at 4:00pm.
The winner will advance to the title game against either #1 BenU Mesa or #4 University of Saint Katherine.
