NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team took a set off a nationally-ranked NCAA opponent but fell 3-1 to #16 CSUN (19-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-20) on Wednesday night.
The Bobcats (1-6) have now won a set in three of the six meetings against the Matadors.
Ryan Kilgore had eight kills on a .350 hitting percentage, while Jared Guglielmana and Javy Larranaga tallied six and five kills, respectively. Kilgore also had a career-high two service aces.
Nathan Campbell finished with 13 assists, a season-high tying five digs, and a solo block. Toby Miller added eleven assists.
Other notables include four digs each from Larranaga and Sebas Moreno, three kills from Kaikoa Soma, and a solo block from Daniel Del Grande.
CSUN was led by reigning Big West Player of the Week winners Donovan Constable (43 assists) and Kyle Hobus (14 kills/.435 hitting %).
UC Merced hit .150 on the night, but operated at a .273 success rate in the opening frame and led for the majority of the set on their way to a 25-19 win. Tied 7-7, a CSUN service error started a 6-1 run to create UC Merced's separation. Kilgore scored two of the Bobcats six points in the run with a pair of kills. UC Merced led by six points at 16-10 and went up by as many as eight points at 23-15 following a block from Guglielmana and Max Niederberger. Niederberger delivered a kill shortly after and the Bobcats won the set with a CSUN service error.
Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team maintained a .313 hitting percentage in the second set but fell 25-21. Larranaga had a great start with three kills and an assist to help give the Bobcats an 11-10 lead before CSUN scored two in a row for a lead change and started to build a lead. The Bobcats trailed 17-14 a little later and then by four points at 20-16. UC Merced was within a pair at 23-21 following a Guglielmana kill, but CSUN earned a sideout and then finished the set with a service ace.
CSUN led from start to finish in the third frame with a pair of Matador 4-0 runs being the difference maker. CSUN led 15-10 midway through the frame and extended the lead to seven points at 19-12. After two straight UC Merced points, CSUN responded with a 6-1 set ending run to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The home team hit .500 in the set, while limiting the Bobcats to a -.042.
The Bobcats trailed 12-9 in the fourth set before claiming the lead with a 5-0 run highlighted by a solo block from Del Grande and back-to-back kills from Soma. The Bobcats led by two at 16-14 and were tied 17-17, but CSUN scored the next three points to be the first team to 20. The Matadors continued to roll pushing their lead to 24-19 and then after a Soma kill staved off one match points, the Bobcats committed a service error that ended the match.
Up next, UC Merced will play 2023 NAIA National Champion and third-ranked Vanguard University on Thursday, February 8. First serve from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Calif., is scheduled for 7:30pm.
