SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team recorded a season-high 15 blocks and knocked off University of Saint Katherine 3-1 (17-25, 26-24, 25-14, 25-21) on Friday night at the USK Sports Complex.
The Bobcats (9-12, 6-5) win marks their second straight and UC Merced now controls its own destiny in the postseason picture with one match to go.
The Bobcats 15 blocks are the most since February 11, 2018. Also of note, the block total is the Bobcats top ever mark in California Pacific Conference play.
Jozef Lingenfelter led UC Merced with a career-high seven blocks, one solo. Lingenfelter, whose seven blocks tied the Bobcats 2023 team high, also had seven kills on a .385 hitting percentage and three digs.
Brennan Taylor was good for six kills on nine swings without an error and four blocks. Both his kills and blocks output tied his season-high. The sophomore has at least four blocks in back-to-back matches.
Toby Miller turned in one of the best all-around performances of his career with 35 assists, eight digs, a career-high four blocks, and three kills.
Chris Morikawa was good for nine kills, eight digs, and two blocks, while Ryan Kilgore posted almost an identical stat line with nine kills, seven digs (tied season-high), and a block. Morikawa's eight digs were enough to move him ahead of Ben Nilsen for fourth on the program's all-time digs list with 431 career digs.
Javy Larranaga finished with six kills on a .750 hitting percentage (6/0/8) for the second straight match. Larranaga, who needed just two sets to hit those numbers, also had three blocks, one solo.
Other notables include seven digs from Sebas Moreno, six kills and two blocks from Jared Guglielmana, and two blocks from Nathan Campbell. Lincoln Smith and Kaikoa Soma registered the Bobcats two service aces. Smith extended his streak to three consecutive matches with an ace.
UC Merced lost the first set but won the match. It marked the Bobcats second straight win and fourth win this season when dropping the opening frame. The set was tied 10-10 before Saint Katherine finished it with a 15-7 set-ending run. The Bobcats hit just .176 in the frame before finding a .200 success rate or better the rest of the way.
The Bobcats had 14 kills and just three errors on 30 swings to win the second set. The two teams traded two-point leads for the majority of the frame until the Bobcats put together a 5-0 run to turn a 16-14 deficit into a 19-16 advantage. Another lead change had Saint Katherine ahead 23-22. The Firebirds also led 24-23. With the Bobcats in danger of falling behind 2-0 in the match, Kilgore evened the score with a kill and then Morikawa notched a solo block to put the Bobcats up 25-24. A second USK attack error followed to give the Bobcats a 26-24 win.
Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team carried momentum into the third set and put together a pair of 6-0 runs to dominate the frame 25-14. The Bobcats first 6-0 run put them on top 6-2, while their run later on extended the Bobcats advantage to 19-11. Guglielmana and Larranaga combined for three kills and two blocks in the scoring spurts. The Bobcats led by double figures at the 22-12 mark before finishing off USK 25-14 and taking a 2-1 match lead.
The Bobcats scored the first three points in the fourth set which was a good enough start to allow the Bobcats to remain in front for the first 14 rallies. The Bobcats fell behind 16-11 before turning it back on and knocking off Saint Katherine. UC Merced pulled even at 19-19 and then a Larranaga solo block put the Bobcats back on top. Larranaga also scored the Bobcats 23rd point with a kill. A USK setting error got the Bobcats to 24 before Smith scored match point via a service ace.
UC Merced has now scored match point with a service ace in back-to-back matches.
The Bobcats win over Saint Katherine was their ninth all-time, marking the most amount of wins against a single opponent in program history.
Looking ahead, UC Merced will play at Westcliff University in the regular season finale on Sunday, March 26 at 6:00pm. The Bobcats can clinch a spot in the California Pacific Conference Championships with a win or a Saint Katherine loss to either Pacific Union College or Simpson University.
