MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team won the 2024 California Pacific Conference regular season championship for the first time in program history with a sweep over Providence Christian College on Saturday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium, winning 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-14). Saturday was also Senior Night.
The Bobcats (16-7, 12-1) will be the #1 seed in the Cal Pac Tournament Championship beginning Nov. 15 in Riverside, Calif.
With two regular season matches remaining, the Bobcats have tied their program-record with both 16 wins and 12 conference wins. Also of note, the Bobcats have notched a program-record eleven sweeps, including six in a row. The Bobcats current seven match winning streak overall is a program-record.
Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team neared a three-set program record with 50 kills and 70 digs in the championship-clinching win. The Bobcats 70 digs are the most in a three-set match since October 20, 2017.
Senior Alexa Ultreras led the Bobcats with 14 kills and 12 digs, including seven kills in the opening set to set the tone for the match. Saturday marked her eleventh double-double of the season and she also added a block and a service ace. The Merced native is now tied with Rachael Schaefer for tenth in program history with 69 career service aces.
Sera Riley had eight kills in the third set alone while hitting .636 (8/1/11) to finish the sweep for UC Merced. Her .636 hitting percentage is the second highest success rate of her career with a minimum of ten attempts.
Kennedi Baker added seven kills, while Morgan Wilson was good for six kills and four blocks.
Destiny Lei Ramilo (16 digs), Haley Branley (13 digs), and Jaide Davis (11 digs) led the Bobcats defensively in the back row. Branley tied her career-high, while Davis' eleven digs is a new career-high.
Serena Choi (14 assists), Ellie Gordon (12 assists), and Kyra Miller (10 assists) shared setting duties. Choi, who also had six digs and two kills, turned in eleven assists alone in the first set.
Other notables include a career-high tying five kills and two service aces from Lei Ramilo and four kills and a solo block for Semiramis Tanasescu.
There were five ties in the first set before the Bobcats grabbed their first lead of the night at 13-12 after a Providence error. The two teams continued to trade sideouts and UC Merced and PCC found themselves tied as late as the 21-21 mark. Ultreras broke the tie with a kill, which was the first of four straight kills to propel the Bobcats to a 1-0 match lead. Baker and Wilson also had a kill in the set-ending 4-0 run. Ultreras put away the kill for set point.
Both squads traded 4-0 runs to start the second frame and were tied 12-12 before the Bobcats created separation. A 5-0 run sparked by another Ultreras kill pushed the Bobcats lead to 17-12. Lei Ramilo was behind the service line in the spurt and delivered one ace. UC Merced's lead was cut to two points at 21-19, but Lei Ramilo followed with back-to-back kills and then a Davis service ace followed. The Bobcats scored the final point in the set off a Sea Begger setting error.
Riley proved to be too much for the Sea Beggars in the third set. She came off the bench to smack eight kills in the frame, including four in the Bobcats first ten points as her team led 10-4. As a team, the Bobcats turned in 19 kills on a .368 hitting percentage in the final stanza. The Bobcats held PCC to just four kills and a .071 mark. Up 17-13, the Bobcats finished the sweep with a match-ending 8-1 run. Riley had three kills in the run, while Tanasescu had a kill and a solo block. Davis, one of the four Bobcat seniors celebrated before the match, served and earned the assist on senior night and regular season championship match point.
The Bobcats improved to 17-1 all-time against Providence Christian College.
Up next, the Bobcats will host Pacific Union College on Friday, November 2 at 2:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium for the regular season home finale.
