REDDING, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team swept Simpson University 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-20) inside the James M. Grant Center on Friday night in the final road game of the regular season.
The Bobcats (12-18, 11-8) have now earned three straight road sweeps dating back to October 20. Also of note, the Bobcats win guarantees an over .500 finish in conference play for the second time in the last three years.
Destiny Lei Ramilo led the Bobcats on Friday with a three-set season-high 17 digs to go along with five assists and two service aces. The senior, who is now 18 digs away from 1,000 career digs, moved into fifth all-time on the program's all-time sets played list, having now played 342 sets in her career.
Semiramis Tanasescu highlighted the attack with eight kills on a .353 hitting percentage. Alexa Ultreras added seven kills, while Sera Riley and Kennedi Baker had six kills each. All four Bobcats also contributed defensively.
Riley had three blocks, two solo, and Tanasescu and Baker each had two blocks. Ultreras had nine digs.
Morgan Wilson was good for five kills and had four blocks for the second straight outing, two solo. Jazmine Banks had a three-set season-high ten digs.
Kyra Miller and Bianca Malaluan quarterbacked the Bobcats offense with 15 assists and 14 assists, respectively. The duo led the Bobcats to eleven or more kills in all three sets.
The first set was tightly contested and saw six ties and three lead changes by the midway point of the period. Neither team led by more than two points until Simpson went ahead 17-14. Then, after three straight UC Merced blocks to pull even, Simpson responded with four points of their own to go up 21-17. The Bobcats also trailed 23-21 before coming back to win the frame. After a Simpson service error, an Ultreras kill tied the set at 23 and then a Tanasescu kill was followed by a Riley ace for game point.
Tied 6-6 in the second set, the Bobcats surged ahead on a 7-0 run highlighted by three Wilson blocks. Her third block in the run put the Bobcats up 13-6. Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team extended their lead to double figures at 18-8 after a Riley kill and the Bobcats then cruised to the 25-16 win in the frame. UC Merced's defense was sharper in the second set than any other point in the match, holding Simpson to a -.056 hitting percentage.
UC Merced fell behind 8-3 early in the third set but reeled off five points in a row to take the lead. Both of Lei Ramilo's aces on the night came in the 5-0 run. The Bobcats broke a 9-9 tie and led the rest of the way, including by five at 15-10 and 18-13. When Simpson cut the deficit three points at 23-20 and threatened to extend the match, Tanasescu countered with a kill to earn the sideout and put Malaluan behind the service line. Malaluan then ripped across a service ace for match point, her fourth straight match with an ace.
The Bobcats swept the season series against Simpson for the second time in the last three years. Also of note, the Bobcats improved to 10-4 all-time on the road at Simpson.
Looking ahead, UC Merced will host Pacific Union College for Senior Night and the regular season finale on Saturday, November 4 at 8:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
