MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team wrapped up the HIU Summer Slam with a five-set win over Hope International University on Saturday night at Darling Pavilion. The Bobcats finished the HIU Summer Slam 1-3. The Bobcats win over HIU marked the first win of 2023.
vs. Carroll, L 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-18)
vs. Doane L 3-1, (25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-20)
vs. The Master's, L 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-13)
vs. Hope International, W 3-2 (26-24, 25-20, 22-25, 13-25, 15-12)
In the win over Hope, Alexa Ultreras led the way with career-high's of 29 digs and 16 kills. Ultreras is just the third player in program history with at least 29 digs in a match and the first since Cassandra Diaz reached that mark in 2018. Valeria Martinez tallied 29+ digs in 2014. Over the four matches, Ultreras averaged 2.7 kills and four digs per set. Ultreras also had a service ace in each match. Also of note, the Merced, Calif., native had three blocks against College of Idaho.
Destiny Lei Ramilo was a force all Summer Slam, averaging 5.3 digs, 3.5 assists, and .33 service aces per set. She had at least 12 digs in all four matches and tallied 28 digs and 27 digs against Doane and Hope International, respectively. Through six outings this year, Lei Ramilo has racked up 120 total digs. Only Diaz (2018) had 120 digs through the first six matches prior to Lei Ramilo. Additionally, Lei Ramilo had a career-high 18 assists at Hope International. Her play at the HIU Summer Slam allowed her to pass Jade Fachin for sixth in program history with 610 career digs.
Serena Choi recorded 2.0 digs, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 kills per set over the four-match weekend. Against Doane, Choi tallied a career-high 17 digs.
Sera Riley was good for 1.6 kills and a dig per set while also registering at least one service ace in each match. Riley had a career-high five aces in the win over HIU.
Other notables include 2.4 digs and 2.3 assists per set from Bianca Malaluan and 1.7 kills per set from Kennedi Baker. Guzman averaged 1.3 kills and 0.7 blocks per set.
Overall, Prachumsri's team shined defensively with 19.1 digs per set and 2.3 service aces per set. Against Doane, the Bobcats tallied 100 total digs. The Bobcats hit the century mark in digs for the first time since October 15, 2022 and for just the second time in the last six years. Behind the service line, the Bobcats had at least eight service aces per match.
The Bobcats five-set win over Hope International improved the Bobcats five-set match record to 6-4 dating back to the start of the last season.
Up next, the Bobcats travel to San Marcos, Calif., to compete in the USK Tournament Aug. 31-Sept. 2. The Bobcats will play four matches in the tournament starting with Friends University at 12:00pm on Thursday.
