FULLERTON, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team started its four-match road trip with a loss to No. 13 Hope International on Friday afternoon, falling 3-0 (25-11, 25-23, and 25-17).
The Bobcats (2-6) were led by Jared Guglielmana's nine kills, four digs, and a solo block. With his defensive efforts, Guglielmana passed Matt Lostetter for ninth in program history with 312 career digs.
Jozef Lingenfelter finished with five kills, five digs, and a solo block.
Toby Miller tallied 18 assists, seven digs, and three kills.
Other notables include three kills from Gannon Connors and a service ace from Pomaikainokeakua Kahaulelio.
Cole Oliver led Hope International with ten kills, seven service aces, and two blocks.
The Bobcats were unable to overcome Hope's .437 hitting percentage and ten service aces.
Hope started the match with a dominant first set, hitting .478 while limiting the Bobcats to just five kills and a .040 hitting percentage. UC Merced was able to improve their offense as the day went on.
The Royals led 9-3 early in the first set before the two teams traded points for a brief stretch. UC Merced was within five points at 13-8, but Hope gained full advantage after that with four straight points and a 12-3 set-ending run overall to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Hope recorded six service aces in the set-ending run.
There were seven ties and four lead changes during the first 24 rallies of the second set, resulting in a 12-12 tie. The Royals scored the next three points and reached the 20-point marker before the Bobcats did, going up 20-16. The home team also led by four at 23-19. The Bobcats used back-to-back Guglielmana kills and then a Guglielmana solo block to pull within a point, 23-22, but couldn't fully overcome the deficit and fell 25-23.
UC Merced forced a couple lead changes in the beginning of the third set, but the final lead was 7-6 and then the Bobcats had to play from behind the rest of the way. A little later, a 6-1 HIU run put the Bobcats in a dangerous position trailing 18-11. After the Bobcats cut the deficit to five, a couple attack errors followed putting Hope back up seven at 22-15. Hope finished the match shortly after with its 25-17 set three win.
UC Merced recorded a season-low three blocks in the loss and tied the season-low with 27 kills.
Up next, UC Merced will play No. 1 The Master's University on Saturday, February 22 at 1:00pm at the MacArthur Center in Santa Clarita, Calif.
