MERCED, Calif. - The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team made history on Tuesday night, winning its first ever California Pacific Conference Tournament Championship with a 3-1 win over University of Saint Katherine (17-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-15).
With the win, the Bobcats (7-6) clinched an automatic berth to the upcoming NAIA National Championships scheduled to begin on April 17.
Olivia Harden was lights out for UC Merced in the title match, finishing with a career-high 22 kills on an impressive .462 hitting percentage. 19 of her 22 kills came in the final three sets, and she also added a pair of blocks, including a solo block early in the contest.
Harden's 22 kills was the second highest output of any Cal Pac player in a title tilt since the 2017 conference championship match.
Serena Choi quarterbacked the majority of Harden's opportunities and finished with 32 assists overall. The freshman setter also was good for eight digs and a pair of blocks.
Lexus Lagumbay and Olanasaze Ojo were key, both offensively and defensively. Lagumbay stuffed the stat sheet with 17 digs, eight kills and two service aces, while Ojo recorded seven kills and a program championship record seven blocks.
Lagumbay's eighth kill clinched the Bobcats championship.
Joining Lagumbay with double figure digs were Madison Mayoralgo and Edwena Wong. Mayoralgo finished with 17 digs, while Wong pitched in ten. Mayoralgo also tied her career-high with six assists.
Freshman Teola Nowak came up big as the match went on, finishing with five kills and a career-high five blocks. Four of her five blocks occured in the final two frames.
As a team, the Bobcats neared their season-average with a .198 hitting percentage, while limiting Saint Katherine to just a .037. The Bobcats defense was arguably the best it has been all season, nearing season-high's with 67 digs and eleven blocks. The last time the Bobcats got both 65+ digs and double figure blocks in a four-set match was on August 31, 2019.
Full play-by-play recap to come.
The Bobcats will find out their opponent for their first ever NAIA National Tournament match on Monday, April 12. The NAIA will hold a selection show at 8:00am here.
