MERCED, Calif. - The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team tallied season-high's of 14 service aces and a .304 hitting percentage to sweep West Coast Baptist College in the 2022 home opener on Wednesday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium, 3-0 (25-5, 26-15, 25-11).

The Bobcats (2-4) sweep was their first of the year and the third straight home sweep dating back to last season.

Olanasaze Ojo held match-high with seven kills on a .545 hitting percentage, her third highest hitting percentage ever with a minimum of ten attempts. 

Valentina Evans had six kills and hit .500 for the first time with at least ten swings. Hannah Dillingham, Teola Nowak and Semiramis Tenesescu pitched in five kills. Tenesescu also finished with three blocks and the freshman is the Bobcats blocks leader heading conference play with 15 total blocks. One of her three blocks on Wednesday night was a solo block.

Serena Choi and freshmen Ellie Gordon and Alyssa Dudley shared match-high with three service aces. Choi also shared match-high with 12 assists and six digs. Dudley's aces mark set a new career-high, while Gordon matched her aces career-high from August 25 against Menlo College. 

Tea Bishop finished with four digs, three kills and a service ace, while Jalen Carey was good for six digs and a service ace.

Other notables include 12 assists from Bianca Malaluan, five assists from Jaide Davis, two blocks from Choi, an ace from Destiny Lei Ramilo, and a solo block from Sera Riley.

The Bobcats 20-point victory in set one, as well as their hitting percentage and service aces total, are the highest marks since posting similar numbers against Pacific Union College on October 28, 2021.

Defensively, the Bobcats had West Coast Baptist recording a -.093 hitting percentage.

The Bobcats won the opening set 25-5 after jumping out to a 13-1 lead that was built up with Carey behind the service line. Carey, who served nine straight balls, had her ace in the stretch. Ojo and Nowak also highlighted the run with a trio of kills.

Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team exploded in the second set after breaking a 4-4 tie. A Choi kill followed by a Choi solo block gave the Bobcats even more momentum and they were able to build their lead to eight points as early as the 13-5 mark. Later on up 19-15, Dillingham overpowered the Eagles with back-to-back kills that started a 6-0 set ending run.

An early 8-0 run with three Gordon service aces was the main difference maker in the third set to help the Bobcats secure the sweep. Alyssa Dudley strung together three more consecutive service aces down the stretch to put her team ahead 17-6 at the time. Bishop helped inch the Bobcats closer to the finish line and it was a West Coast Baptist attack error that officially ended the match.

The Bobcats improved to 5-0 with five sweeps all-time against West Coast Baptist.

Looking ahead, UC Merced travels south to begin California Pacific Conference play on Thursday, September 8 against Providence Christian College. First serve is scheduled for 7:00pm in Pasadena, Calif.