SAN MARCOS, Calif. - Serena Choi recorded the first triple-double in program history, but the University of California, Merced women's volleyball team fell in five sets to University of Saint Katherine on Friday night, 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 25-20, 23-25, 14-16).

Choi finished with 22 assists, ten kills and ten digs to make UC Merced (3-5, 1-1) history. Her ten kills marked a career-high, putting an exclamation point on the program's first ever triple-double. Her 22 assists led all players.

Choi's triple-double came just 24 hours after her third career double-double. Both Thursday's and Friday's matches went the distance, marking the first time since October of 2018 that the Bobcats played back-to-back five set matches.

Olanasaze Ojo shared match-high and tied her career-high with 15 kills in the setback. Hannah Dillingham contributed ten kills and became the first Bobcat to post back-to-back double figure kill matches this season. Dillingham and Ojo also had two blocks. 

Semiramis Tanasecu tallied a career-high six blocks, one-upping her previous high of five from this year's season opener.

Other Bobcats with strong outings and career-high's include Jalen Carey, Destiny Lei Ramilo and Tea Bishop. Carey and Lei Ramilo pitched in 20 digs each, while Bishop was good for 15 digs. Friday night marked the first match since 2018 in which at least two Bobcats recorded 20 digs. Lei Ramilo also had two service aces.

Other notables include 13 assists and eight digs from Bianca Malaluan, and five kills and two blocks each from Valentina Evans and Teola Nowak. Evans was responsible for the Bobcats lone solo block.

Overall, the Bobcats finished with season-high's of 84 digs, 53 kills, and 47 assists.

The first set was tight throughout as neither team held a lead larger than three points for 49 of the 50 rallies. The Bobcats held the only four-point lead after a 4-0 run to go up 17-13. Saint Katherine scored four in a row of their own to even the score up again at 17. The set was also tied at 22-22 before Nowak and Ojo put together back-to-back kills to put the Bobcats in position for set point.

The second set was very similar to the first early on with a narrow scoring margin, however Saint Katherine pulled ahead with an 8-1 run to grab a 19-13 advantage with multiple kills and service aces with libero Camille Harvey behind the service line. The hosts lead grew to eight points before the period came to an end.

Nowak started the third set with a kill and except for a 2-2 tie, the Bobcats led the rest of the way. The Bobcats led by five points as early as the 7-2 mark and by seven at 12-5. A Choi kill later on gave the Bobcats their biggest lead of eight points, 19-11. USK would threaten and pull within a point, 20-19, before the Bobcats pulled ahead again and won the frame 25-20. Evans' solo block was set point.

The Bobcats stayed close in the fourth set but it wasn't until a late 3-0 run highlighted by a Carey service ace that the Bobcats had their first lead at 21-20. Tied 23-23 a few points later, Saint Katherine's Tyler Dart tallied a kill and the Firebirds would capture set point on their first try in order to send the match to a fifth set.

The fifth set saw nine ties and no lead larger than two points. Tanasecu had two blocks in the first six rallies, while Dillingham followed that up shortly after with a kill and a block of her own to put the Bobcats up 6-4. However, Saint Katherine was the first to ten points and the Firebirds then led by a pair at 10-8. The set was then tied at 12-12 and 13-13. Dillingham broke the later tie with a kill, however the Bobcats couldn't capture match point and Saint Katherine scored three straight points to win the Friday night battle.

Saint Katherine improved to 1-1 in five-set affairs this year, while UC Merced fell to 2-2. Saint Katherine is one of just three 2-0 teams in the Cal Pac.

Looking ahead, UC Merced finishes their four games in four days stretch at Westcliff University on Saturday afternoon. First serve from the Jordan Lawley Facility in Irvine, Calif., is scheduled for 3:00pm.