MESA, Ariz. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team swept Park University Gilbert and claimed its first ever California Pacific Conference Regular Season Championship on Friday night.
The Bobcats (12-13, 10-2) swept Park 3-0 behind a .352 hitting percentage and a three-set program-record 13 blocks. The Bobcats won by scores of 25-13, 25-14, 25-20.
UC Merced entered the day tied with Westcliff at the top of the Cal Pac standings. The Bobcats won its match first, and then saw Westcliff fall in five sets immediately after to Saint Katherine.
UC Merced will be the #1 seed and host the Cal Pac Men's Volleyball Championships April 19-20 inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium. Prior to that, the Bobcats will play UC Santa Cruz for Senior Night in a nonconference matchup.
Colin Ryan led the Bobcats in the Friday night win with six kills on a .667 hitting percentage (6/0/9) and a three-set season-high five blocks. Overall, it marked his third 5+ block match of the campaign.
Daniel Del Grande tallied a career-high and 2024 UC Merced team-high seven blocks, one solo. Del Grande, who needed just two sets to reach his top mark, also had two kills.
Kaikoa Soma turned in a career-high six kills on a .417 hitting percentage and had a service ace.
Jozef Lingenfelter added five kills on six swings without an error, while Lincoln Smith had four kills on four swings.
Nathan Campbell was good for 16 assists, a career-high five blocks, and three kills.
Other notables include ten assists and five digs from Toby Miller, eight digs from Dylan Jong, and three blocks from Ryan Kilgore. One of Kilgore's three blocks was solo.
Miller eclipsed 500 assists for the second consecutive season.
Sebas Moreno notched a dig to pass Matthew Lostetter for eighth in program history with 312 career digs.
The Bobcats dominated Park from start to finish and limited the Bucs to a -.177 hitting percentage on the night.
UC Merced led by seven points as early as the 12-5 mark in the first set and extended the lead to double figures at 17-7 following back-to-back points from Kilgore. Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team led by eleven points on six occasions before finishing the frame with a 25-13 win. Smith scored set point with a kill.
The Bobcats jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second set with strong play from Campbell. Later on, another 5-0 run put the regular season champs up 13-6 and then UC Merced led by double figures at 21-11. Soma got rolling late, scoring the Bobcats final two points of the set via the kill to put his team up 2-0 in the match behind the 25-14 set win. Prachumsri's squad hit a match-high .407 in the frame.
Set three saw the Bobcats break a 6-6 tie with a Ryan kill. The point also sparked a 6-0 run in which Ryan notched two blocks. Soma was behind the service line in the stretch and had an ace. The Bobcats led by seven at 15-8, however found themselves tied 16-16 after a Buccaneers surge. The Bobcats responded with a 5-0 run to go up 21-16, and then the two teams traded sideouts from there until Lingenfelter ultimately ended the match with his fifth kill of the night.
With the Bobcats 12th win, UC Merced has matched its best win total since 2020. Four of the Bobcats wins have come via the sweep.
Also of note, the Bobcats have now swept Park three straight times on the road and have a nine-match winning streak overall against the Bucs.
Up next, UC Merced will play UC Santa Cruz in a nonconference match on Saturday, April 13. The match is both Senior Night and the regular season finale. First serve is scheduled for 5:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium in Merced, Calif.
