SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team went punch for punch with UC Santa Cruz, but ultimately fell just short in all three sets and were swept by the Banana Slugs on Thursday afternoon in the season opener, 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 31-29).

Despite the loss, the Bobcats (0-1) tallied more kills, digs, blocks, and maintained a higher hitting percentage than UC Santa Cruz.

Chris Morikawa, the 2022 Cal Pac Attacker of the Year and kills per set leader in three consecutive years, paced the Bobcats with 15 kills on an impressive .440 hitting percentage. The senior has now tallied 10+ kills in three consecutive three-set regular season matches dating back to last season. Morikawa also added eight digs and a solo block to his season-opening effort.

Ryan Kilgore tied his three-set career-high with ten kills on a .250 hitting percentage to go along with five digs, a solo block, and his first career service ace. The 6'7" outside hitter has at least one solo block in three straight matches dating back to 2022.

Javy Larranaga and Brennan Taylor pitched in five kills and three digs each. Larranaga also had his second career solo block.

Jozef Lingenfelter added four kills on seven swings without an error and a career-high three blocks. Two of his blocks were solo.

Toby Miller and freshman Jared Schnake quarterbacked the Bobcats offense with 18 and 12 assists, respectively. Schanke posted the Bobcats fourth ever highest assists total in a collegiate debut. Both recorded a service ace.

Other individual notables include a career-high eight digs from Sebas Moreno and two blocks from Lincoln Smith.

UC Santa Cruz, winners of five in a row already, forced UC Merced to play catch up for the entire first set where as set's two and three were neck-and-neck throughout.

The Bobcats fell behind 6-0 to start the day before playing back to get within a pair at 15-13 and within a point at 17-16 following a solid stretch from Lingenfelter. UC Merced was unable to pull even, but continued the fight before falling 25-23 in the first set.

Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team held a narrow lead for the majority of the second set. The Bobcats biggest lead was four points at 10-6, but they found themselves trailing a little later at 14-13. Back-to-back points, including a kill from Morikawa, had the Bobcats right back on top. The two squads traded sideouts for the next six rallies before UC Merced was able to grab a two-point lead again at 19-17. The Bobcats also led by two at 20-18, however the Banana Slugs caught fire and surged ahead for a set-ending 7-2 run.

The third set finished at 31-29, the highest scoring set the Bobcats have played in since January 24, 2020. The Bobcats smacked a match-high 16 kills in the set. After forcing a win by two scenario following a 24-22 deficit, the Bobcats had two chances at set point, up 28-27 and then again on top 29-28 after a Morikawa kill. UC Santa Cruz tied it up both times, marking the two final of 15 total ties over the duration of what would be the final frame. Tied 29-29, the Slugs reeled off back-to-back kills and then clinched match point with a block.

Looking ahead, the Bobcats will play at eighth-ranked Menlo College on Saturday, January 28 at 5:00pm inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion in Atherton, Calif.