HONOLULU, Hawaii – The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team dropped its first match at the Aloha State Showdown on Thursday afternoon, falling 3-1 (25-14, 25-18, 18-25, 25-14) to Western Washington.
The Bobcats (1-4) recorded a season-high nine blocks in the loss.
Morgan Wilson led the Bobcats efforts with nine kills and three blocks, one solo. With her blocks output, Wilson passed Rachael Schaefer for seventh all-time in program history with 150 career blocks.
Sera Riley added eight kills and moved into third all-time in program history with 687 career kills, passing Alexa Ultreras. Riley also collected eight digs, two blocks, and a service ace on Thursday.
Kyra Miller gathered 19 assists, seven digs, and a career-high tying five blocks and four service aces.
Ayana Ruffin notched a career-high six blocks.
Jazmine Banks finished with 12 digs and a service ace, while Yahaira Vazquez put down seven kills.
Other notables include ten assists from Ellie Gordon and eight digs from Taylor Crayne. Both Bobcats also had a service ace.
Set one went Western Washington's way due to a 12-1 run that resulted in a 17-5 WWU lead. WWU scored seven of its 12 points in the surge via the kill or service ace. The Bobcats fell behind by as many as 14 points at 21-7, but did put together a solid stretch in response winning six of the seven rallies to make it 22-14. UC Merced fell 25-14 shortly after.
The Bobcats trailed 9-4 in the second set before Ruffin dominated for a stretch. She started a 7-0 run with a kill and a block, and then she finished the run with three consecutive blocks to put her team on top 11-9. However, Western Washington pulled ahead by scoring four straight. The Bobcats were within a point at 17-16 but a 5-1 WWU run followed and it proved to be too much for the Bobcats to overcome in the second set, dropping the frame 25-18.
Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team had to play catchup again in the third set and pulled even with WWU at the 11-11 and 12-12 mark. A WWU attack error gave the Bobcats their first lead of the set at 13-12 and they never let it go, using a 7-1 run to grab an 18-13 advantage highlighted by a pair of Vazquez kills. A little later, a Riley ace made it 22-16. Kylah Guzman and Vazquez finished off the set with back-to-back kills as the Bobcats won 25-18.
The Bobcats scored the first three points of the fourth set but the Vikings scored the next four for an early lead change. Two more lead changes followed and the set was tied 9-9 shortly after. UC Merced was within one point at 13-12, however WWU pulled way ahead as they exploded for eight consecutive points to own a 21-12 advantage. Match point followed shortly after in the 25-14 set four win for the Vikings.
Looking ahead, UC Merced will play Hawai'i Hilo and Hawai'i Pacific on Friday, September 12 in the Aloha State Showdown. Both matches will be played at the Shark Tank at HPU.
