MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team swept Cal State Monterey Bay 3-0 (25-22, 27-25, 25-22) on Saturday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The Bobcats (5-12, 4-4) sweep was their first of the season.
UC Merced recorded a season-high .325 hitting percentage and had three-set season-high's of 55 digs, 47 kills, and seven blocks. Also of note, Cal State Monterey Bay managed just 38 kills which is the fewest kills of any UC Merced opponent this year.
Sera Riley led the Bobcats with 12 kills, nine digs, a service ace, and a block. With her efforts, she passed Serena Choi for third all-time with 95 career service aces and eighth all-time with 632 career digs.
Morgan Wilson racked up eight kills without an error to go along with four blocks. Wilson's hitting percentage was .615 (8/0/13) and Saturday was her second match this year with at least eight kills and no errors. Her four blocks matched her season-high.
Semiramis Tanasescu tallied eight kills without a blemish finishing with a career-high .800 (8/0/10) hitting percentage. She added two blocks, one solo. Tanasescu is the first Bobcat since Jaysonna Johnson in 2019 and just the fourth Bobcat all-time to register an .800 hitting percentage or better on a minimum of ten attempts.
Kylah Guzman was good for eight kills, five digs, and a solo block.
Kyra Miller put up 19 assists, nine digs, six kills, and two service aces. Her second ace scored match point and gave her multiple aces in back-to-back matches. Her strong serving night also moved her ahead of McKenzie Willett and Cassandra Diaz for eighth all-time in program history with 75 career service aces.
Ellie Gordon had 16 assists four digs, and a service ace.
Yahaira Vazquez notched four kills and a career-high four blocks, while Jazmine Banks collected 14 digs.
Other notables include six digs from Taylor Crayne and a service ace from Jourdyn Ozeta-Banks.
The opening set had five early ties and two lead changes before the Bobcats used a 5-0 burst to hold a 10-6 lead. CSUMB pulled even again at 15-15 but the Bobcats answered right back with back-to-back kills from Miller and Wilson and UC Merced led the rest of the frame. Miller had an ace shortly after to put the Bobcats up 21-17. A Tanasescu kill had UC Merced up 24-21 before scoring set point on a CSUMB service error.
Set two was tied 7-7 before a 4-0 run for the Bobcats highlighted by a pair of Vazquez kills created a little bit of separation. The Bobcats lead remained between 2-4 points for the majority of the set and it reached as high as six points at the 22-16 mark. However, CSUMB didn't go away easily and scored four straight to put some pressure on UC Merced. Then, Riley turned in a couple kills and the Bobcats were serving for set point up 24-21. The Otters fought back with back-to-back kills and then a block to force extra points. The score was tied 24-24 and 25-25, but the Otters were never at set point and committed two straight attack errors to give the Bobcats the 27-25 win.
UC Merced's first lead in the third set came at 7-6. The lead changed happened in the middle of a 5-0 run that was capped by a Tanasescu and Riley block. Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team extended the lead to five at 14-9 and the Bobcats also maintained that five-point cushion at 15-10 and 16-11. The Bobcats were up 17-13 shortly after but CSUMB battled back to make it a 21-20 game still in favor of the Bobcats. Then with the Bobcats ahead 23-22, Guzman delivered a kill to earn a sideout and Miller followed with an ace for match point.
With the win, UC Merced sweeps the season series with Cal State Monterey Bay.
Up next, UC Merced will play at Stanislaus State on Thursday, October 18. First serve from Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena is scheduled for 5:00pm in Turlock, Calif.
