MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team was defeated in three sets on Saturday night, 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-21) inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The Bobcats (6-19, 5-11) celebrated seniors Sera Riley, Ellie Gordon, and Semiramis Tanasescu prior the match for Senior Night.
Kyra Miller led the Bobcats with eleven digs, seven assists, six kills, two service aces, and a solo block.
Natalie Riley finished with a career-high ten digs, six kills, and a career-high tying two service aces.
Ellie Gordon tallied 15 assists, five digs, two kills, and two blocks, one solo.
Semiramis Tanasescu added five kills on a .300 hitting percentage and a block, while Morgan Wilson had three kills, a career-high tying five digs, and two blocks.
Sera Riley turned in five kills, ten digs, and two blocks. One of her two blocks was solo.
Jazmine Banks was good for 12 digs, three assists, and an ace.
The Bobcats had to play from behind the entire match and their deficit was between 3-4 points for the majority of the first set, but the Bobcats did attempt to rally late and cut the deficit down to two points at 23-21 after back-to-back kills from the Riley sisters. San Francisco State responded with a kill and then scored set point with an ace to go up 1-0 in the match.
San Francisco State started the second set with an 8-2 run and led by double digits as soon as the 13-3 mark. A little later, the Bobcats scored four straight points highlighted by a Tanasescu and N. Riley block that cut the deficit to six points at 18-12. The burst forced a Gators timeout, but then the visitors came back on the court to score the next three points and regain their big cushion on the way to the 25-15 set two win.
The Bobcats were within a point at 9-8 in the third set but couldn't string together enough points to ever jump in front. It was a three-point affair multiple times the rest of the set, including at 22-19 and 24-21. SF State finished out the match with a Tamiya Wilson kill for match point. Wilson, the school's all-time kills leader, finished with a match-high 16 kills.
Looking ahead, UC Merced will begin its season-ending road trip at Cal State San Marcos on Friday, November 14. First serve from the Sports Center in San Marcos, Calif., is scheduled for 7:00pm.
