SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team fell in straight sets to UC Santa Cruz on Sunday afternoon, 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-18).
Despite the loss, the Bobcats (1-9) recorded eight blocks which marked the most for UC Merced in a three-set match since April 1, 2022.
Max Niederberger recorded a season-high four blocks, one solo.
Ryan Kilgore and Brennan Taylor registered three blocks each. Kilgore, who tied his career-high with three blocks, also finished with five kills and a service ace.
Javy Larranaga led the Bobcats offensive efforts with seven kills on a .333 hitting percentage.
Toby Miller tallied 16 assists, six digs, and a season-high four kills.
Other notables include eight digs, three kills, and a service ace from Jared Guglielmana, and a solo block from Jared Schnake.
UC Santa Cruz was led by Riley Norman's 14 kills on a .480 hitting percentage and three service aces.
The Banana Slugs won five of the first six rallies and extended their lead to six points in the first set as soon as the 12-6 mark. It was a 17-10 Slugs advantage shortly after before the Bobcats went on a 7-2 run to pull within a couple points. Kilgore had an ace and a kill in the stretch. The Bobcats then found themselves trailing 24-19 but staved off three set points, but committed a service error to give the home team a 1-0 match lead.
UC Merced took their first lead of the day at 3-2 in the second set. However, the lead didn't last long for head coach Ai Prachumsri's squad as the opponent followed with an 8-4 run to go up 10-7. UC Santa Cruz led by seven points at 19-12 and the Bobcats couldn't come any closer than four the rest of the set.
The Bobcats only leads in the third set were 4-3 after a Schnake solo block and 5-4 after a Kilgore kill. The Banana Slugs scored five straight points to create initial separation and then led by eight points as early as the 16-8 mark. It was 20-12 shortly after that and then the two teams traded side outs until the Slugs scored match point via a Bobcats service error.
UC Merced operated at just a .083 success rate offensively, compared to the Banana Slugs' .250.
Up next, UC Merced will play Hope International University and #8Menlo College at the Oak Invitational on Friday, February 16. The Bobcats will play HIU first and the match is scheduled for 3:00pm inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion in Atherton, Calif.
