STANFORD, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team lost to NCAA Division One No. 8 Stanford in straight sets on Friday night, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-22).
The Bobcats (2-8) were led by Jozef Lingenfelter and Kaleb Cole, who recorded eight kills each. Cole also had four digs and a service ace.
Jared Guglielmana turned in five kills without an error on 12 attempts. He added a solo block, passing Chris Morikawa for fifth in program history with 33 career solo blocks. He also passed Morikawa for fifth in program history with 254 career sets played on the same night.
Toby Miller finished with 23 assists and two kills.
Other notables include seven digs from Sebas Moreno, two service aces from Gannon Connors, and a solo block from Brennan Taylor. Of note, Moreno moved ahead of Matthew Pelfini for third in program history playing with 255 career sets.
Carson Kneisl led Stanford with ten kills, four blocks, and a service ace.
UC Merced scored the first three points of the night and led 11-7 later on in its first ever meeting against Stanford. The Bobcats also led 14-12 before a 6-0 Stanford run gave the Cardinal the lead for good. The Bobcats managed to pull within two points at 18-16, but couldn't get any closer and dropped the opening set 25-19. Stanford limited the Bobcats to a -.107 hitting percentage in the frame.
Similar to the first set, head coach Ai Prachumsri's team didn't trail for the early stages of the second set. The Bobcats either led or were tied until falling behind 14-13. The deficit came at the hands of a 5-0 Stanford run in which the Cardinal scored three of their five points via the kill. Lingenfelter stopped the Cardinal run with a kill and then a little later the Bobcats trailed by just a point at 20-19 after a Cole kill. However, Stanford scored the next five points to win the set 25-19 and take a 2-0 match lead. Both teams hit at least .380 in the frame.
In the third set, the Bobcats continued to get off to good starts and used a strong service run that included two aces by Connors to hold a 12-7 lead. Shortly after, a 3-0 spurt capped by a Lingenfelter kill put the Bobcats on top 15-8. UC Merced was the first team to 20 points, but Stanford had already started to cut into the deficit and the Cardinal eventually pulled even at 21-21. A Stanford service ace followed and the Cardinal rode that ace to the finish line, winning the set 25-22 to complete the sweep.
Although the Bobcats fell in straight sets, all the statistical categories were balanced as Stanford only recorded two more kills, digs, and blocks than the Bobcats did.
Up next, UC Merced will begin California Pacific Conference play on Saturday, March 1 against Simpson University in Redding, Calif. First serve from the James M. Grant Center is scheduled for 4:00pm.
