MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team fell 3-1 (26-28, 25-19, 25-23, 25-20) to Jessup in the 2025 home opener on Wednesday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
Despite the loss, the Bobcats (2-4) tied their season-high with 49 kills and 46 assists.
Kaleb Cole tied his career-high's with 12 kills, five digs, and two solo blocks.
Jared Guglielmana also had 12 kills to go along with six digs, a solo block, and a service ace. His solo block moved him ahead of Emmanuel Egun for sole possession of sixth in program history with 31 career solo blocks.
Daniel Del Grande registered a career-high nine kills on a .412 hitting percentage. He also notched a solo block and a service ace.
Toby Miller tallied a season-high 38 assists, a season-high tying four kills, a season-high two solo blocks, and four digs. Wednesday night marked his third straight match with four kills.
Jozef Lingenfelter collected 10 digs for the third time this season to go along with five kills.
Brennan Taylor and Max Niederberger split time in the middle combing for seven kills without an error on eleven swings. Taylor had two solo blocks, while Niederberger recorded one. With Taylor's defensive efforts, the senior passed Cole Smith for tenth in program history with 20 career solo blocks. Sebas Moreno finished with eight digs.
2X NAIA All-American Jan Lopuch held match-high for Jessup with 23 kills. Overall, Jessup had 56 kills and eleven blocks to secure the victory over the Bobcats.
UC Merced won the opening set behind 15 kills on a .324 success rate. The set one win didn't come easy as there were eight lead changes within the first 20 points before the Bobcats scored three unanswered to get momentum on their side. After a couple sideouts, Miller put away a kill and then back-to-back solo blocks from Cole and Niederberger got the Bobcats to 16 points. Cole followed the blocks with a kill to put the Bobcats up 17-14. Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team was the first to 20 and led 24-21, but were forced to win it extra points after Jessup scored four straight to go up 25-24. Jessup committed a couple errors in crunch time, giving the Bobcats another chance to score set point and it was Cole to finish off the frame with a kill for the 28-26 win.
No team led by 3+ points in the second set until Jessup broke a 12-12 tie and scored three unanswered to go up 15-12. Guglielmana helped bring the Bobcats within a point, but Jessup used another 3-0 spurt and extended its run to 7-1 resulting in a 24-17 lead. A Jessup attack error and a Del Grande kill put the Bobcats at 19 points before the Warriors scored set point with a kill from the middle to tie the match at one set a piece. Jessup finished the set hitting .433.
Jessup got off to a good start in the third set leading 8-3 and never let the Bobcats jump in front. Although, the Bobcats kept working and made things extremely tight late in the frame. UC Merced trailed 14-8 before starting to chip away at the deficit, starting with a mini 4-1 run to cut the margin in half. UC Merced and Jessup traded points for a stretch which resulted in a 23-20 Warrior lead later on. Guglielmana tallied a kill, but it was followed by a UC Merced service error putting Jessup in position to score set point. Guglielmana denied the Warriors first set point, turning in a kill of his own and then going back to serve. Cole followed with a kill of his own to make it 24-23, but Jessup clinched the set on the next rally with a Lopuch kill.
There were seven ties and two lead changes in the first 16 rallies of the fourth set, but then Jessup pulled ahead scoring four straight points and seven of the next eight overall to take a 15-9 lead. The Bobcats managed to pull within three points at 16-13, however they couldn't close the gap again. Jessup regained its six-point lead at 20-14 and led by a game-high seven while serving for match point on top 24-17. The Bobcats scored three more points before falling, including Miller notching his second solo block. Jessup finished the match with Lopuch's 23rd kill.
Up next, UC Merced will host Hope International University on Friday, February 14 at 6:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
