ANGWIN, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team knocked off Pacific Union College in four sets on Saturday night to earn their second straight road win, 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 25-20).
With the victory, the Bobcats (6-11, 4-1) improve to 4-1 in Cal Pac play which is their best start through five conference matches since 2021.
Ryan Kilgore tallied 12 kills on a .321 hitting percentage to go along with two blocks and two service aces. With his efforts, Kilgore has now recorded double figure kills in three consecutive matches for the first time in his career.
Jared Guglielmana finished with eleven kills, five digs, and two blocks. The Madera, Calif., native is now sixth in program history with 419 career kills after passing Jacob Shelton and Samuel Hala'ufia on Saturday night.
Max Niederberger was strong in the middle with seven kills and he tied the Bobcats 2024 team-high with six blocks, one solo. The sophomore had a .500 (7/1/12) hitting percentage and was just one block shy of tying his career-high.
Daniel Del Grande notched a career-high five blocks. Three of his five blocks were solo.
Toby Miller moved within five assists of 1,000 career assists with a 25-assist performance to help the Bobcats win. He also neared a double-double with nine digs and added two blocks.
Sebas Moreno was good for eleven digs and two service aces.
Other notables include nine assists from Nathan Campbell, five kills from Lincoln Smith, and two service aces from Jared Schnake.
The Bobcats used a pair of four+ point runs to create separation in the first set, with the latter run being 5-0 to go up 18-9 with Kilgore behind the service line. He had two aces in the spurt, while Guglielmana had two kills. The Bobcats reached 20 points leading 20-12 and the two sides then exchanged sideouts the rest of the way culminating in a 25-17 set one win for UC Merced.
The Bobcats held a few one-point leads in the second set, including at the 12-11 mark but PUC followed with four straight points and a 7-2 run overall. Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team pulled within a point at 18-17 with the help of the middle blockers and also climbed back to be within a point at 24-23 following back-to-back kills from Niederberger and Kilgore. However, PUC got a kill for set point one rally later to win the second set 25-23 and tie the match up at a set a piece.
UC Merced used a 4-0 spurt in the third set to grab a 12-9 advantage and managed to remain in front the rest of the frame. A Schnake ace had the Bobcats up 16-12 and then a Miller kill a little later inched the Bobcats closer to a set win with his team up 20-16. The Bobcats next four points also came via the kill and four different players had one in the stretch. Leading 24-21, Miller combined with Niederberger for set point with a block on the Pioneers JT Kuderca. Prachumsri's squad hit .333 in the third set.
Back-to-back blocks for UC Merced to start the fourth frame set the tone and the Bobcats would win the fourth set wire-to-wire. The Bobcats led by six points as early as the 9-3 mark and then after PUC came within two, Niederberger sparked a 6-0 UC Merced run to extend the lead to as many as eight points at 16-8. Niederberger also had block in the run and Kilgore had a block and two kills. The margin shrunk to two points again, 20-18, but the Bobcats made one final push to finish out the four-set victory with a 25-20 set four win. A Niederberger and Miller block set up match point, and the match point was then scored via a Pioneer attack error.
UC Merced finished the night with a .260 hitting percentage while holding the Pioneers to a .120 mark. The Bobcats combined for 44 kills and eleven blocks. Also of note, the Bobcats limited PUC to a -.138 hitting percentage in the fourth set.
With the win, UC Merced improved to 8-0 all-time against the Pioneers and 4-0 on the road. It is the most wins without a loss against a single-opponent in program history.
Up next, UC Merced will host Simpson University on Sunday, March 10 at 5:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium in Merced, Calif.
