MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team fell 3-2 (17-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-18, 15-11) to Westcliff University in the California Pacific Conference Tournament Championship match on Saturday afternoon, ending the season.
The Bobcats finish their historical season 13-15 overall with two nationally-ranked wins, the first Cal Pac Regular Season Championship in program history, and six postseason selections. The Bobcats played to a 10-2 record in conference play.
Jared Schnake led the Bobcats with 13 kills, seven digs, two blocks, and two service aces on Saturday. With his efforts, he became just the fifth player in program history to join the 150 kill/100 dig club for a season. Out of every Bobcat on the list, Schnake leads the way in the dig column with 177.
Ryan Kilgore had ten kills and tied his career-high with four blocks, including a record-breaking solo block in the fourth set. His 17th solo block of the campaign gives him UC Merced's single-season record, originally set by Jacob Shelton in 2018 and then tied again by Christopher Calder a year later. Also of note, Kilgore's double figure kill performance upped his season kills total to 274 which puts him ahead of Chris Morikawa for the second most kills ever in campaign. Kilgore also had four digs and two service aces in the championship match.
Jared Guglielmana had eight kills and a career-high tying four blocks, two solo to go along with five digs and three assists. The Madera, Calif., native is the first player in program history with 250 kills and 150 digs in a single season. As for his solo blocks, Guglielmana moved ahead of Jacob Semon for eighth in program history with 24 career solo blocks.
Brennan Taylor contributed six kills hitting .300 and notched three blocks, marking his third straight match with at least three blocks.
Daniel Del Grande had six blocks and five kills. One of his blocks was solo. The junior finishes the year with multiple blocks in three straight outings and recorded at least six blocks in two of the three.
Toby Miller and Nathan Campbell finished with 22 and 18 assists, respectively. Miller added a service ace, while Campbell tallied four kills and a block.
Sebas Moreno was good for nine digs and two service aces, improving on his historical campaign behind the service line.
Moreno, Kilgore, and Guglielmana all reached 100 sets played in the season. No Bobcat had ever reached that mark prior to 2024.
UC Merced led 2-0 in the match before falling in five sets, in part due to their success rate offensively. UC Merced hit .565 in the first set and .444 in the second set, combining for 28 kills and just three errors in the stretch. The Bobcats didn't hit any better than .111 the rest of the way.
The Bobcats started the match with a Taylor kill and back-to-back service aces from Kilgore and that was enough for head coach Ai Prachumsri's team to lead the whole frame. A Campbell kill got the Bobcats to ten points while leading 10-5, and then the Bobcats extended their lead to seven points shortly after at 14-7. UC Merced led by as many as eight points in the first set victory, including as early as the 22-14 mark before going up 1-0 in the match with the 25-17 win. Campbell scored set point with one of his three kills in the frame.
The second set featured ten ties but the Bobcats never trailed, staving off any momentum the Warriors were trying to build at the time. The last tie was 18-18 before Del Grande smacked a kill that started a 5-0 Bobcats run. Del Grande also had a block in the stretch, as did Kilgore to go up 23-18. Kilgore scored the 24th point via a kill and then it was Kaleb Cole to score set point with a kill of his own to put the Bobcats up 2-0.
Set three was going the Bobcats way for the majority of it. UC Merced led 9-5 after a Schnake service ace and took a five-point lead at 13-8. A little later, a Guglielmana solo block against Cal Pac Attacker of the Year Gabriel Pizza made it 18-12. Schnake then delivered his second service ace of the set to go up 20-13, and a Moreno ace made it 23-17. However, Westcliff followed with a 9-1 set ending run and staved off one championship point to extend the match. The Warriors scored eight of the nine points themselves in their match-saving run with five kills, two blocks, and a service ace.
Westcliff carried momentum into the fourth set and used an early 6-0 run to go up 10-4. Another Warrior 6-0 run later on made it 20-9 for the third-seeded team out of Irvine. The closest the Bobcats got the rest of the way six points, ultimately falling 25-18 and having to play a fifth set.
Saturday marked the first ever Cal Pac Men's Volleyball Championship match to go to five sets. Taylor opened the decisive frame with a kill, but then Westcliff countered with five straight points and led the rest of the way. A Moreno service ace pulled the Bobcats within two points, as did a Campbell kill at 9-7. Westcliff answered with a 5-2 spurt to set up championship point. The Bobcats stayed alive due to a Westcliff service error, and then Guglielmana and Del Grande teamed up for a block to keep the Bobcats championship effort alive. However, one play later Pawel Tuz set Tom Dempsey for a championship winning kill and Westcliff won their first tournament championship in program history.
Westcliff became just the second team ever to win the Cal Pac Men's Volleyball Tournament Championship, joining only Benedictine Mesa who three-peated from 2021-2023.
Westcliff's Mohamed Ilias Lazaar finished with 24 kills on a .383 hitting percentage, three blocks, and two service aces. Tuz had a double-double with 52 assists and eleven digs. Westcliff hit .538 in the final frame to help secure the win.
Keep up with UC Merced men's volleyball in the offseason by following the team on social media @UCMercedMVB.
