Box Score MERCED, Calif. – Three Bobcats recorded at least 13 kills but the University of California, Merced men's volleyball team fell in five sets to Westcliff University on Friday night, 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-21, 15-11) inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The Bobcats (7-10, 4-3) have now gone the distance in back-to-back matches, marking the first time since 2018 UC Merced has played two consecutive five-set affairs.
Ryan Kilgore led the Bobcats with a career-high 16 kills and a season-high three solo blocks. Both totals one-upped his previous high. Kilgore's three solo blocks gives him 12 on the year, marking the most by any Bobcat since the 2020 campaign.
Chris Morikawa finished with 15 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, his third consecutive outing with at least 15 kills and a .333 success rate. Morikawa also tallied seven digs, two service aces, and a solo block for the second straight game.
Jared Guglielmana rounded out the Bobcats three-headed attack with a season-high 13 kills in addition to recording nine digs for the second time in as many matches.
Setter Toby Miller ran the Bobcats offense with 48 assists and added eleven digs to earn his first double-double of the campaign, second of his career. Miller added four kills to his double-double performance.
Jozef Lingenfelter was good for seven kills on a .417 success rate, six digs, two blocks, one solo, and a service ace.
Other individual notables include six digs from CJ Blankenship, four kills and four digs from Brennan Taylor, and five digs from Kaikoa Soma.
Westcliff was led by Mohammed Llias Lazaar's 24 kills and Gabriel Pizza's 23 kills.
Looking to avenge a loss on Wednesday night, the Bobcats took it to Westcliff in the first set and led for every rally after breaking a 5-5 tie. The Bobcats grabbed a four-point lead at 10-6 and were also able to lead by four points later on at 21-17. Westcliff pulled within a point, 22-21, before a series of Warrior attack errors followed. Miller would ultimately score set point via his second kill of the frame.
UC Merced led 18-16 in the second set before falling victim of a 9-3 set-ending run from Westcliff. Westcliff scored five of their nine points in the game-changing run via a block or a kill. Westcliff's setter Pawel Tuz scored set point with a service ace, officially evening the match at one game apiece.
Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team utilized a 7-3 run in the third set to gain momentum back and the Bobcats stayed in front the remainder of the frame. Kilgore highlighted the early stages of the third set with three kills, and he would also go on to make statement plays down the stretch as well by scoring points 24 and 25 with a solo block and an overkill, respectively. The Bobcats ended the frame on a 9-3 run. UC Merced hit a match-high .414 in the frame.
The two teams were tied 10-10 in the fourth set but Westcliff gained an advantage after back-to-back kills from Llias Lazaar and John Rezepniewski. The Bobcats managed to pull even again at 13-13 following another Kilgore solo block, but the Bobcats couldn't jump on top and then trailed by at least two points from the 18-16 marker on. Westcliff won the set 25-21 to force a fifth set.
UC Merced never led in the fifth set but were able to score three points in a row to tie the score 8-8 highlighted by a Guglielmana kill. Westcliff called a timeout and they came out of it with back-to-back-to-back kills and 7-3 match-ending run overall to complete their comeback from down 1-2 earlier in the match. The Warriors, who have played four consecutive five-set matches, scored eleven of their 15 points in the decisive fifth-set via the kill.
The Bobcats fell to 0-2 in five-set matches this year.
UC Merced finished the night with five more digs than the Warriors, 55-50, and recorded the same amount of blocks as Westcliff. Each team had seven blocks, highlighted by Kilgore's three solo blocks.
Up next, UC Merced hosts University of Saint Katherine on Sunday, March 11 at 1:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
