MERCED, Calif. - Led by Serena Choi, the University of California, Merced women's volleyball team recorded a season-high .309 hitting percentage and swept Pacific Union College on Thursday night to close out a season-long six-match homestand, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-15) inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.

The Bobcats (7-8, 5-4) finished 4-2 on the homestand to get back over .500 in California Pacific Conference play. The Bobcats sweep was their second in league action.

Choi tallied her second consecutive triple-double and her third of the season, this time stuffing the stat sheet with a career-high 14 kills to go along with 14 assists and eleven digs in the sweep. Her 14 kills came while operating at a career-best .722 hitting percentage (14/1/18) and she becomes the first Bobcat in program history to hit over .700 with at least 18 attempts. Choi is also the only Bobcat all-time with a triple-double. The Irvine, Calif., native has two five-set triple-doubles, and now the historical three-set masterpiece.

Valentina Evans impressed with seven kills and no errors on eleven attempts. Evans, who finished with a .636 hitting percentage, has gone without an error on 10+ attempts three times since October 2, 2021. Evans' seven kills was the second highest output for her this season. She also held-team high with two blocks and has multiple blocks in five straight affairs.

Tea Bishop tied her career-high with seven kills and led the team with 12 digs. Bishop and Destiny Lei Ramilo shared team-high with two service aces. Lei Ramilo also had eight digs. 

Bianca Malaluan helped quarterback the Bobcats offense to a season-high .309 hitting percentage with 21 assists. 

Teola Nowak was good for six kills, while Semiramis Tanasecu and Hannah Dillingham had three kills each. The Bobcats 43 total kills marked a three-set season-high.

Other notables include eight digs from Annamarie Caldero, a solo block and a block assist from Tanasecu, and an ace from Jalen Carey to pass Isabella Barbera for sole possession of eighth place on the program's all-time aces list with 62 career service aces.

The Bobcats led by at least seven points in every set and created their separation towards the midway point of each frame, including in the opening set where a run turned an 11-11 tie into a 22-15 Bobcat lead. Tanasecu and Bishop had two kills each during the 11-4 run. Soon after, Choi delivered back-to-back kills and then a Pacific Union set error put the Bobcats at 25 points.

Choi notched back-to-back kills in two more key moments in the second set. First, her two consecutive kills broke a 10-10 tie and allowed the Bobcats to take the lead for good. Up 21-18 later on, Choi's back-to-back kills marked the start of a 4-0 set ending run to put the Bobcats up 2-0 in the match. Carey's service ace and an Evans kill made up the final two points in the set ending run.

The Bobcats, who started the homestand with a sweep, now had the chance to end the homestand with a sweep. Head coach Ai Pracumsri's team was able to do just that thanks to an 11-0 run with Destiny Lei Ramilo behind the service line. Lei Ramilo had two service aces in the surge, while Bishop had two kills and a block. The run saw the Bobcats garner a 19-10 lead. Later on, an Alexa Ulteras kill set the Bobcats up for match point and Choi secured the sweep on the next rally with her career-best 14th kill.

The Bobcats sweep was their tenth in a row over Pacific Union College. The Bobcats have now won 15 straight matches overall against the Pioneers and are 21-4 in the 25 all-time meetings.

Looking ahead, UC Merced visits Simpson University on Saturday, October 1 to wrap up the first half of Cal Pac play. First serve from the James M. Grant Center in Redding, Calif., is scheduled for 6:00pm.