MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team lost 3-0 to 25th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday afternoon inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium. Set scores were 25-19, 25-11, 25-16.
The Bobcats (5-18, 4-10) were unable to get the offense rolling against their second Top 25 opponent of the year. Cal Poly Pomona remains unbeaten in the CCAA at 14-0.
Kylah Guzman highlighted the Bobcats efforts with six kills and a career-high tying four blocks, including one solo.
Sera Riley added six kills and six digs, while Semiramis Tanasescu pitched in five kills. Tanasescu also passed Valeria Martinez and Genna Garrett for seventh in program history with 342 career sets played.
Kyra Miller finished with 17 assists, five digs, a kill, and a solo block.
Jazmine Banks had 13 digs and Morgan Wilson added to the Bobcats defense with three blocks.
Other notables include five assists from Ellie Gordon and two service aces from Natalie Riley.
The Bobcats jumped out to an 8-5 lead in the first set before Cal Poly Pomona responded with a 4-0 spurt for a lead change. UC Merced remained close through the middle of the set but an 8-1 Broncos run proved to be the difference as it put the visitors on top 21-13. S. Riley closed the gap with three consecutive kills before the Bobcats fell 25-19.
Cal Poly Pomona took control of the second set early on with a 6-2 lead. The Broncos extended their advantage to 14-6 and then scored seven straight to build their lead to 14 points, 21-7. Cal Poly Pomona recorded a .391 hitting percentage (9/0/23) in the second set while limiting the Bobcats to a -.029, to get the 25-11 win.
The Bobcats played from behind the entire third set but did manage to cut an early six-point deficit in half with the strong play of Guzman, who had a block and a kill to bring the Bobcats within three at 11-8. Cal Poly Pomona slowly added to its lead from there and the Bobcats were never able to put together a run needed to get back in the game, falling 25-16.
Looking ahead, UC Merced will host Stanislaus State on Thursday, November 6 at 7:00pm on Hostetler Court inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
