MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team welcomes Jessup (Feb. 12/6:00pm) and Hope International (Feb. 14/6:00pm) to the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium this week for the first homestand of the season.
UC Merced enters the homestand 2-3 overall. Jessup is 3-2, while Hope is 3-1 in the early season.
Fans can follow the action live on ucmercedbobcats.com/watch or keep up with the stats here. Tickets to all home matches are available at the our online box office.
FIRST SERVE
UC Merced is currently receiving votes in the NAIA Men's Volleyball Coaches Top 15 Poll. The Bobcats are looking to be nationally-ranked for the first time since January 26, 2022.
UC Merced is recently coming off a sweep over NCAA Division II opponent Jessup, 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-22). The Bobcats tallied nine service aces and 8.5 blocks, and held Jessup to a -.029 hitting percentage. The Bobcats nine aces marked the most in a three-set match since February 24, 2024. Offensively, six different Bobcats had at least four kills led by Jared Guglielmana's six.
The Bobcats are one of the nation's top teams defensively standing third in the NAIA with 11.18 digs per set and are fourth with 2.76 blocks per set. Both numbers are good for first in the Cal Pac.
After playing games in Chicago, Orange County, and the greater Sacramento area, the Bobcats are at home for the first time this season.
The Bobcats are 6-4 in their last ten home games dating back to last season and are 4-1 in their last five home openers.
Toby Miller was named the California Pacific Conference Setter of the Week on Monday. The selection period covered all five games of the season and Miller is the Cal Pac's leader at 8.12 assists per set.
Head coach Ai Prachumsri is in his eighth year at the helm and is approaching 100 career wins with an overall record of 90-87. Prachumsri is 50-32 in Cal Pac play and is most recently coming off a Cal Pac Regular Season title. Ken Shaw, in his first year, joins Prachumsri on the sidelines.
UC Merced returns 12 players from a year ago and welcomed in eight newcomers. Six of the newcomers are freshman.
Among the returners are All-Cal Pac First Team selection Jared Guglielmana, All-Cal Pac Second Team picks Sebas Moreno and Jared Schnake, and Cal Pac Honorable Mention Toby Miller.
BLOCK PARTY
UC Merced tallied a program-record 20 blocks against defending NAIA national champion Georgetown on January 24.
Daniel Del Grande neared the individual record that night and registered a career-high eleven blocks, including three solo. His 11 blocks marked the most by any Bobcat since February 15, 2016 (Samuel Hala'ufia, 12). Del Grande also had five kills and his first career service ace.
Colin Ryan tied his career-high with six blocks, while Jared Guglielmana set a career-high with five blocks and Kaleb Cole notched a career-high three.
BOBCATS IN THE RANKINGS
Sebas Moreno leads the Cal Pac and is seventh nationally with 3.24 digs per set. The program's single-season digs per set record is currently held by Zach Brill (2.71 D/S in 2019).
Jared Guglielmana is top ten in the Cal Pac with 2.76 K/S (4th), 6 solo blocks (T-2nd), 1.65 D/S (6th), 0.59 B/S (7th), and a .173 hitting percentage (7th).
Toby Miller leads the Cal Pac with 8.12 A/S and is third with 1.76 D/S. He is also the only player on the West Coast with at least 8.0 A/S and 1.75 D/S. Furthermore, he is seventh in the Cal Pac with 0.35 SA/S and tied for eighth with 0.53 B/S.
Jozef Lingenfelter ranks second in the Cal Pac with 1.94 D/S and is sixth with 2.53 K/S. He is also second with a .273 hitting percentage.
Daniel Del Grande is second in the Cal Pac and 18th in the NAIA with 1.18 blocks per set. Offensively, Del Grande is ninth in the conference with 1.53 K/S and is the only player with 25+ kills hitting .440 or better.
Kaleb Cole is top ten in the league with 1.88 K/S (8th) and 0.65 B/S (5th).
UC Merced has four players ranked top ten in the Cal Pac in K/S and D/S, including the top three in D/S.
The Bobcats are one of the nation's top teams defensively standing third in the NAIA with 11.18 digs per set and are fourth with 2.76 blocks per set. Both numbers are good for first in the Cal Pac.
UC Merced ranks second in the conference with 10.8 K/S, a .181 hitting percentage, and 10.35 A/S. UC Merced is third with 1.24 SA/S.
DOUBLE-DIGITS
Three Bobcats have put away double-digit kills this season: Guglielmana 3X, Lingenfelter 1X, Cole 1X.
Three Bobcats have collected 10+ digs this season: Moreno 3X, Lingenfelter 2X, Miller 1X.
Toby Miller recorded a double-double in the season opener with 37 assists and ten digs. It was his fifth career double-double.
SXU TOURNAMENT
UC Merced opened the 2025 season at the Saint Xavier University Tournament against three nationally-ranked opponents, sweeping 15th-ranked Indiana Tech. The Bobcats took defending national champion and No. 4 Georgetown to five sets 24 hours later and tallied a program-record 20 blocks, before falling in straight sets to No. 2 Saint Xavier. It was the first time playing a Top 15 team back-to-back-to-back since the 2015 campaign. The win over Indiana Tech was the Bobcats school-leading seventh victory against a nationally-ranked foe.
Other ranked opponents this year include #1 The Master's University (Feb. 22) and #8 Westcliff University (Mar. 6 & Mar. 28). UC Merced also plays No. 8 Stanford of NCAA Division 1 on February 28.
RECORD BOOK WATCH
Sebas Moreno – Four service aces away from being third on the program's all-time aces list with 53 career service aces.
Sebas Moreno – Eight sets away from being fifth on the program's all-time sets played list with 249 career sets.
Jared Guglielmana – 14 digs away from being ninth on the program's all-time digs list with 312 career digs.
Jared Guglielmana – Three solo blocks away from being fifth on the program's all-time solo blocks list with 33 career solo blocks.
Jared Guglielmana – Four sets away from being eighth on the program's all-time sets played list with 241 career sets.
Toby Miller – Two service aces away from being ninth on the program's all-time service aces list with 31 career aces.
Brennan Taylor – Six blocks away from being sixth on the program's all-time blocks list with 109 career blocks.
SCOUTING JESSUP
First-year program Jessup comes into the match with a 3-2 record after a four-set win over Menlo on February 7.
Jessup is 2-1 against the Cal Pac this season, beating PUC and Simpson on the road but losing to UC Merced at home.
Jan Lopuch leads the team and is top ten in the NCAA with 4.1 K/S*. He is second on the team with 0.61 B/S.
Setter Taylor Marks is top 25 in the country with 8.8 A/S and 0.67 SA/S*.
Sydney Mathias leads the back row with 1.89 D/S.
Chase Schwab leads the way at the net with 0.94 blocks per set (four solo blocks out of 17) and contributes 1.33 K/S offensively on a .357 hitting percentage.
Owen Henning is another player to watch with 1.94 K/S while hitting a top five nation mark .429*.
Jessup is 0-1 all-time against UC Merced.
As a team, Jessup averages 10.9 kills per set hitting .196, 10.1 assists per set, 7.8 digs per set, 2.0 blocks per set, and 1.6 service aces per set.
Kyle Steele is in his first year at Jessup following a successful stint at OUAZ, where he recoded 112 wins as the first ever head coach of the Spirit.
*Jessup is a provisional member of NCAA Division II. Jessup currently does not show up in the NCAA stat leaderboards, but if they were to show, the rankings are included above.
SCOUTING HOPE
Hope International enters the week after a 3-1 opening weekend at the Gray Wolf Invitational, beating Jamestown, Lourdes, and IU East.
Cole Oliver leads the Royals with 3.8 K/S on a .336 hitting percentage and is second in the nation with 0.94 service aces per set.
Sergio Garcia (5.19 A/S) and Sam D'Ambrosio (4.53 A/S) share setting duties.
Javier Castillo anchors the Royals defense in the back row with 2.5 D/S.
Santiago Mantovani is the wall with 0.93 B/S.
Julian Zavala is second on the team in kills (3.6 K/S), digs (1.8 D/S), and blocks (0.75 B/S).
Hope is 19-8 all-time against UC Merced, but 1-4 in the last five meetings.
As a team, Hope averages 12.6 kills per set hitting .275, 11.6 assists per set, 8.5 digs per set, 2.1 blocks per set, and 2.1 service aces per set. Hope's 12.6 K/S are good for ninth in the country.
Lisa Bangasser is in her third year as the head coach.
A LOOK AHEAD
UC Merced begins its final season in the California Pacific Conference when it travels to Simpson on March 1. The 2025 Cal Pac slate will see the Bobcats play four opponents in a home-and-home series. The Cal Pac Men's Volleyball Tournament Championship is scheduled for April 11-12 in Merced, Calif.
UC Merced is currently transitioning to NCAA Division II and is applying for membership in the MPSF.
