Box Score MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team fell in five sets to 14th-ranked Dordt University, 3-2 (30-28, 17-25, 24-26, 25-22, 15-10) on Wednesday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The Bobcats (7-9, 4-2) five-set affair was their first of the year and their longest match against a nationally ranked opponent since March 5, 2022.
Chris Morikawa highlighted the Bobcats efforts with a season-high 21 kills on an impressive .447 (21/4/38) hitting percentage. The Yorba Linda, Calif., native also had a season-high 14 digs to complete his second double-double of the season and the sixth of his career. Out of all his double-double's, Wednesday night marked his second career double-double with at least 20+ kills and 10+ digs. His efforts officially put him over 800 career kills and 400 career digs. Morikawa rounded out his performance vs. Dordt with two service aces and a solo block.
Ryan Kilgore pounded out a career-high 15 kills. Kilgore also had two solo blocks, marking his second time this year with double figure kills and multiple solo blocks.
Jared Guglielmana had ten kills on a .296 (10/2/27) hitting percentage and neared his second double-double of the season with nine digs.
Toby Miller ran the Bobcats offense with a career-high 53 assists to go along with a career-high five kills, four digs, and a solo block. Miller's 53 assists are good for eighth on the program's single-game record list.
Middle blockers Brennan Taylor and Jozef Lingenfelter were good for five kills. Taylor tallied his five kills on just nine swings. Taylor also had a solo block, while Lingenfelter recorded eight digs.
CJ Blankenship registered a career-high eleven digs. Sebas Moreno delivered a season-high three service aces.
The opening set finished as the second longest set in a Bobcats game this season, but the squad fell 30-28 in the frame. Playing at home for the first time in ten days, the Bobcats jumped out to a 7-3 lead and remained in front until Dordt clawed back to tie it at 16-16. A little later, UC Merced led 23-20 behind a couple key scores from Kilgore. Dordt followed with three points in a row to pull even and then staved off a Bobcats set point to extend the game. UC Merced was then forced to stave off Dordt's set point, successfully doing so on four occasions before a UC Merced service error followed by a Dordt ace ended the set.
Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team won the second set behind a late 8-0 run, turning a 16-16 deficit into a 24-16 lead. Morikawa had the first kill to start the run and had two kills total in the surge. Miller, Blankenship, and Taylor each had one kill, while Lingenfelter was the Bobcat behind the service line during the run. Dordt earned a sideout stopping the 8-0 run, but was in the net one rally later and saw the set come to an end. The Bobcats 25-17 win in the frame was their biggest set victory against a nationally ranked opponent since February 2, 2019. Also of note, the Bobcats recorded a .433 hitting percentage in the frame and nearly forced more Dordt errors than the Defenders had kills.
While the Bobcats had an eight-point win in the second set, they had to come from behind and go to extra points to edge Dordt in the third set. The Bobcats trailed 16-12, 20-18, and were tied 21-21 before breaking through and grabbing their first lead of the entire frame. Tied 25-25 shortly after, Morikawa recorded back-to-back kills, including an overkill for set point to give the Bobcats a 2-1 match lead.
The two teams traded leads early in the fourth set but the Bobcats last lead was 7-6. Dordt followed with back-to-back kills from their leader Caleb Kulesza and struck for an 8-4 run overall to jump ahead 14-11. A Dordt error, a Miller kill, and then a solo block from Morikawa tied the set, but the Bobcats couldn't take the lead. UC Merced was also within a point at 22-21 and 23-22 before Dordt officially forced a fifth set with a 25-23 win.
In the fifth set, Morikawa smacked three kills within the first nine rallies to put the Bobcats up 5-4. Guglielmana followed with a kill to add a point to the lead. However, Dordt earned a sideout and then Andres Guzman ripped across back-to-back service aces to put Dordt ahead 7-6. After a Morikawa kill to pull back even, Dordt reeled off four straight points and finished the Bobcats off with a match-ending 8-3 run overall. Match point was scored via a Brady Frost kill, one of eight kills for Dordt in the decisive fifth set.
Dordt held off UC Merced's first ever top-15 win at home and first top-15 win overall since 2019. The Bobcats currently have four top-15 wins in program history under Prachumsri.
Up next, UC Merced returns to California Pacific Conference action by hosting Westcliff University on Friday, March 10 at 5:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
