PASADENA, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team posted four-set season-high's of 80 digs and 60 kills in a 3-1 (18-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-10) win over Providence Christian College on Friday night.
With the win, the Bobcats (10-7, 6-1) have matched their best ever start in California Pacific Conference play and are at the top of the conference standings at the halfway point of the league slate.
UC Merced's 80 digs in four sets are the most since September of 2023 and Sera Riley led the Bobcats in the digs category with 21 in her third straight 20+ dig match.
Riley also extended her double-double streak to five matches as she added 14 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. The junior rounded out her performance with three service aces and a block.
Alexa Ultreras registered another double-double with eleven kills and a Cal Pac season-high 15 digs. Ultreras, now with three consecutive double-double's, also had four service aces and a career-high tying three blocks. She had one solo block.
Semiramis Tanasescu put down a career-high 13 kills without an error on 24 attempts for a .542 hitting percentage. Her career offensive-night was supported by two blocks and a season-high four digs.
Serena Choi was a strong presence with a season-high ten kills while operating at a .529 success rate (10/1/17).
Kyra Miller (25 assists) and Ellie Gordon (20 assists) shared setting duties and for the first time this year both tallied 20 or more assists in the same match. Miller added four kills without an error on five attempts and a solo block. Gordon's 20 assists marked a season-high.
Other notables include eleven digs from Destiny Lei Ramilo, seven kills and five digs from Morgan Wilson, and six digs and a service ace from Jaide Davis.
The two teams traded sideouts and 4-0 spurts to begin the match resulting in a 13-13 tie midway through the opening set. Providence jumped ahead 14-13 after a UC Merced service error and then used back-to-back kills to garner the momentum they needed to finish the set on a 12-5 run, going up 1-0 in the match. The home team had 12 kills in the first set, but never had more than eight kills in a frame the rest of the night.
While UC Merced outhit Providence Christian College .282-.115 across the entire match, that number changes to .362-.042 in the final three sets. In the sets the Bobcats won, UC Merced put down 50 total kills compared to the opponents 19.
The Bobcats started the second set with back-to-back kills from Ultreras and Tanasescu before the teams traded points on the race to 15, which was won by the Sea Beggers. There were six ties leading up that point in the frame. Head coach Ai Prachumsri's squad took control from there, scoring the next eight points and finishing the set on an 11-1 run overall. Riley was the Bobcats server in the 8-0 run and had two aces and a kill in the surge. Tanasescu scored set point with one of her career-high 12 kills on the night.
UC Merced scored the first three points of the third set and led 10-5 a little later behind some more strong play from Riley. A Wilson overkill put UC Merced up 17-10 further into the frame and then she combined with Ultreras for a block to push the Bobcats lead to 20-11. The Bobcats continued to maintain the advantage and got an ace each from Ultreras and Banks down the stretch to win the set 25-14.
An early 7-1 run highlighted by back-to-back-to-back kills fueled the Bobcats in the fourth frame. After an even stretch, the Bobcats created more separation with four consecutive kills to go up 15-5. Then up 17-10, UC Merced started a match-ending 8-0 run to hand the Sea Beggars their second loss of conference play. The final run, with Ultreras behind the service line, saw Tanasescu tally four kills and a block.
Providence Christian College is 6-2 in conference play with their only two losses coming to UC Merced.
The Bobcats are now 16-1 all-time against PCC and the .941 winning percentage is the best against any opponent in program history with a minimum of 15 matches played.
Up next, UC Merced plays Westcliff University on Saturday, October 19 at Golden West College. First serve in Huntington Beach, Calif., is scheduled for 7:00pm.
