MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team won its third consecutive match, beating Chico State 3-2 (15-25, 25-21, 25-16, 19-25, 15-13) on Saturday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
With the victory, the Bobcats (4-9, 3-1) are one of four CCAA teams with an active three-match winning streak or better. Also of note, two of the Bobcats three wins in the stretch have come in five sets.
Sera Riley turned in her fourth consecutive double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs. She also shined behind the service line with a season-high four service aces and passed Lexus Lagumbay for fourth in program history with 94 career aces.
Kyra Miller had another strong outing with 22 assists, 12 digs, a career-high six service aces, and four kills. Her double-double was her second straight.
Kylah Guzman tallied 12 kills and a solo block, while Morgan Wilson and Natalie Riley had seven kills and a block each. Riley's offensive output marked a career-high.
Jazmine Banks and Semiramis Tanasescu helped anchor the defense with 15 digs and four blocks, respectively. Two of Tanasescu's four blocks were solo.
Other notables include ten assists and eight digs from Ellie Gordon, ten digs from Taylor Crayne, six assists from Banks, and two service aces from Gianella "GiGi" Tijamo.
UC Merced tallied a season-high 74 digs and 14 service aces as a team. The Bobcats 14 aces are the most since September 6, 2024.
Set one saw Chico State jump ahead early and never look back. The Wildcats led 7-1 and extended their lead to double figures as early as the 13-3 mark with the help of four service aces. Chico State's biggest lead of the set was 12 points, 20-8, on the way to the 25-15 victory.
After a couple early lead changes in the second set, the Bobcats turned in a 7-0 run with Miller serving. She had four aces in the run that put the Bobcats on top 11-6. Head coach Ai Prachumsri's team held a six-point lead at 15-9, but Chico State battled back to make it a 17-16 game later on. Guzman's solo block made it 18-16 and the Bobcats lead was back to five shortly after at 22-17. Chico State responded with four straight points before the Bobcats finished the frame with a 3-0 set ending run capped by a S. Riley kill for set point.
The two teams went point-for-point through the early stages of the third set resulting in an 8-7 lead for the Bobcats. S. Riley made it 9-7 with a kill and she sparked a 9-2 Bobcat run to help break the game open. She was also serving during the run and finished the surge with an ace to give her team a 17-9 advantage. The Bobcats kept the foot on the gas pedal and back-to-back aces shortly after from Miller made it 22-12 in favor of UC Merced. Shortly after, N. Riley delivered a kill to score set point as the Bobcats went up 2-1 in the match.
Chico State controlled most of the fourth set and opened up an 11-4 lead behind eight early kills. A little later, Chico State created more separation with a 4-0 spurt to own a 17-8 advantage. UC Merced pulled within four on a couple occasions, including as late as 21-17, but couldn't get any closer than that which resulted in the match going to five sets.
After the Wildcats scored the first three points of the fifth set, N. Riley got the Bobcats on the board and the sideout sent Tijamo to the service line. Tijamo led the Bobcats on a 6-0 run, including delivering an ace that was immediately followed by a Tanasescu solo block. However, the Wildcats countered and led 8-7 when the teams switched sides and extended the lead to 12-9 as the set got late. Guzman helped the Bobcats get back into it with back-to-back kills, and then Wilson had a kill of her own to tie the game 12-12. Those three kills came at the start of a 5-0 run that turned the Bobcats deficit into a 14-12 lead and the first chance at match point. The Bobcats scored match point on their second attempt, a Chico State attack error, winning 15-13 in the fifth set.
Up next, UC Merced will play at Cal State East Bay on Friday, October 3 at 5:00pm inside Pioneer Gymnasium in Hayward, Calif.
