MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team swept Pacific Union College 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-18) on Saturday's Senior Night and officially clinched a berth in the 2025 California Pacific Conference Championships.
The Bobcats (7-10, 5-1) are in the postseason tournament for the sixth consecutive season, which will be held April 11-12 inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
UC Merced hit .329 and tallied a three-set season-high ten blocks to sweep PUC. Also of note, the Bobcats have ten blocks in back-to-back matches for the first time since March 2023.
Toby Miller, who played as an outside hitter in the sweep, led the Bobcats with a career-high 12 kills while hitting .364. Miller added five digs, three assists, and two blocks. With his three assists, he passed Matthew Pelfini for second in program history with 1,625 career assists.
Jozef Lingenfelter played a big role with ten kills on a .348 hitting percentage. He also had seven digs and a season-high four blocks, including three solo to move ahead of Trevor Jurlina for eighth in program history with 28 career solo blocks.
Daniel Del Grande was good for six kills on eight swings without an error to go along with three blocks and two service aces.
Angelo Le registered a career-high five blocks while also putting away four kills without a blemish on nine attempts. He also had four digs.
Sebas Moreno held setting responsibilities and recorded a career-high 27 assists while running the offense to a .329 success rate. Moreno, the Bobcats primary libero, is now seventh in program history after passing Tyler Vincelli for seventh in program history with 178 career assists. Moreno added seven digs and two kills.
Dylan Jong was good for a career-high ten digs and two service aces.
Other notables include three kills and three blocks from Brennan Taylor, three assists from Jong, and two service aces from Gannon Connors.
Playing inspired all night after celebrating the Bobcats seven seniors prior to the match, the Bobcats opened the match with nine straight points with Jong behind the service line. The 9-0 run was highlighted by three Miller kills and capped by a Jong ace. UC Merced held a lead of at least five points late into the set, including at 20-13. PUC scored four straight to close the margin to three, but the Bobcats answered right back with a 5-1 set-ending run with Lingenfelter delivering a kill for set point. The Bobcats hit .375 in the frame while holding PUC to just -.037.
Set two was tightly contested and the Bobcats had to erase two different three point deficits in order to take their first lead at 15-14 that came on a Lingenfelter solo block. The sideout sent Del Grande back to serve and he delivered back-to-back service aces to cap a 4-0 UC Merced run and a 17-14 lead. After a sideout, the Bobcats went on another 4-0 run with four consecutive kills to create further separation, leading 21-15. Moreno had a kill in the burst. The teams traded points the rest of the set resulting in a 25-19 UC Merced set two win.
The Bobcats held a 10-6 advantage in the third set after a block from Taylor and Lingenfelter. PUC responded with a 6-1 run to jump in front, but a kill from Miller and then a Jong service ace put the Bobcats right back on top. Shortly after tied 14-14, Del Grande sparked a 4-0 run with a kill and the Bobcats carried that final spark to the sweep. Including the 4-0 run, the Bobcats ended the night on an 11-4 match-ending run to cap off Senior Night. Miller scored match point with his 12th kill, more than doubling his previous career-high.
UC Merced hit .305 or better in every frame on its way to the sweep. PUC hit just .105.
UC Merced improved to 11-0 all-time against PUC.
Saturday marked the Bobcats third sweep of the year.
Up next, UC Merced will begin its final road trip of the regular season at Soka University of America. First serve from Soka University Gym in Aliso Viejo, Calif., is scheduled for 6:00pm.
