CHANDLER, Ariz. – The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team lost in straight sets (25-17, 25-8, 25-22) to Benedictine University Mesa on Thursday night in game one of a three-match Arizona road trip.

The Bobcats (7-12, 6-2) were led by Alexa Ultreras' ten kills and six digs, but the squad was unable to slow down a BenU team who recorded a .359 hitting percentage.

Ultreras' double figure kills outing was her fifth in a row.

Kylah Guzman pitched in six kills on a .364 success rate, while Semiramis Tanasescu and Serena Choi had four kills each. Tanasescu's four kills came on ten attempts without an error.

Bianca Malaluan and Ellie Gordon recorded ten and eight assists, respectively. With Malaluan's outing, she moved ahead of Brooke Wheeler for fourth in program history with 1,102 career assists.

Destiny Lei Ramilo was good for eleven digs and two service aces.

Other individual notables include seven digs from Jazmine Banks, six digs and five assists from Serena Choi, and a service ace from Haley Branley.

BenU was led by Brianna Rivera's 17 kills on a .552 hitting percentage. Libero Hattie Patton tallied 18 digs.

The opening set was tied 9-9 and the Bobcats were within two points at 15-13 before BenU scored five points in a row and surged ahead with a 10-4 set-ending run to go up 1-0 in the match. Two of the Bobcats three total aces came in the frame.

BenU controlled the entire second set going up 11-4 early on and extending their lead to double figures as early as the 15-5 mark. The Bobcats were never able to close the gap, ultimately falling 25-8.

Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team looked to bounce back in the third set and got off to a solid start behind three straight Guzman kills. The Bobcats also led by three points at the 9-6 and 12-9 mark, but lost the lead shortly after. Later on trailing 19-18, Choi smacked a kill to pull even and then a Lei Ramilo service ace put the Bobcats on top 20-19. However, the Redhawks responded with a match-ending 6-3 run to put an end to the night.

The Bobcats were swept for the first time since August 31.