MERCED, Calif. – The No. 2 seed University of California, Merced men's volleyball team swept Simpson University in the California Pacific Conference Championship Semifinals on Friday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium, winning 3-0 by set scores of 25-21, 25-19, 25-21.

UC Merced will now play top-seeded Westcliff University on Saturday afternoon looking to win the first Cal Pac Tournament Championship in program history. A win would also give the Bobcats their first automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships.

Jared Guglielmana and Jozef Lingenfelter shared team-high with ten kills each. Guglielmana hit .391 and also had two blocks, one solo.  His solo block put him ahead of Jacob Shelton for fourth all-time in program history with 39 career solo blocks.

Lingenfelter added seven digs and two blocks, one solo.

Kaleb Cole and Daniel Del Grande tallied six kills each. Del Grande also had two blocks, one solo.

Cal Pac Setter of the Year Toby Miller filled the stat sheet with 31 assists, six digs, three kills, and two service aces. With his performance, Miller eclipsed 500 assists on the year for the third consecutive season.

Cal Pac Defender of the Year Sebas Moreno collected 14 digs and delivered a service ace. He became the fourth player in program history to surpass 500 career digs.

Brennan Taylor turned in four kills without an error and three blocks, one solo. Gannon Connors pitched in six digs and a service ace.

As a team, UC Merced beat Simpson in every statistical category including winning the kills total 40-27.

UC Merced held Simpson to just a .040 hitting percentage.

In the first set, UC Merced used a 4-0 burst to create early separation and take an 8-4 lead highlighted by back-to-back blocks from Lingenfelter. The Bobcats extended their lead to 11-5 to force Simpson into a timeout. The Red Hawks fought back to come within a point, 16-15, before UC Merced responded with a mini-run to get some cushion back with a 21-17 lead capped by a Connors ace. The two teams traded points in the closing moments with Guglielmana scoring set point with a kill for the 25-21 victory.

There were nine early ties in the second set, the last one being 11-11. Lingenfelter broke the tie and gave the Bobcats the lead for good with a kill. A little later, head coach Ai Prachumsri's team led 18-14 and upped the lead to five points at 21-16 after a kill from Cole. The Bobcats finished the set with a 25-19 victory with Del Grande securing set point via the kill.

UC Merced opened set three with back-to-back-to-back kills and never relinquished the lead. After two straight Red Hawk points, Guglielmana scored four points in a row for a 7-2 UC Merced lead. The Bobcats matched their five-point lead again at the 11-6 mark and then took a new set-high lead of six points at 14-8. Later on, the Bobcats led 20-13 after a Taylor solo block. The Bobcats lead never dipped below four points the rest of the set on the way to the 25-21 victory and the sweep.

UC Merced has earned a postseason sweep in back-to-back seasons.

With the win, UC Merced improved to 12-2 all-time against the Red Hawks.

Up next, UC Merced will host top-seeded Westcliff in the 2025 Cal Pac Tournament Championship match on Saturday, April 12 at 2:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.