MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team swept La Sierra 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-18) on Saturday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
With the win, the Bobcats are 2-0 to start the season for the first time since 2021.
Mason Stokes led the Bobcats with nine kills, five digs, two solo blocks, and two service aces. Stokes recorded a .375 hitting percentage.
Jozef Lingenfelter tallied eight kills, three digs, and two blocks.
Toby Miller dished out 22 assists. He supported his assists numbers with three digs, two kills, a block, and a service ace.
Daniel Del Grande had four kills on eight swings without an error to go along with four blocks and a service ace.
Kaleb Cole was good for six digs, four kills, two blocks, and a career-high four service aces.
Other notables include three kills and a solo block for Max Niederberger, three digs from Sean Ethan Blas, and two kills and a block down the stretch for Kam Owens.
Prior to the match, the 2025 UC Merced squad received their California Pacific Conference Tournament Championship rings.
La Sierra, playing its first match in program history, kept up with the Bobcats at the start but UC Merced pulled away midway through the frame with a 7-0 run to go up 16-7. Stokes started the burst with a kill and would go on to have two aces in the run. The Bobcats led by double digits at 18-8 after a Donovan Guglielmana kill. The biggest lead of the set was 24-11 after freshman Cody Krohn was in on back-to-back points with a kill and a block in his collegiate debut. The Bobcats hit .391 while holding La Sierra to a .055 mark in the set.
The Bobcats continued to control the match in the second set opening up with a 10-3 run, getting kills from five different players. A little later, a Del Grande service ace was followed by a Stokes solo block for a 14-5 advantage. UC Merced then led 18-8 and the two teams traded sideouts to the finish as the Bobcats won the set 25-14. Joel Toves assisted two of the Bobcats final three points.
Set three saw the Bobcats open with an 8-2 run behind strong serving from Cole. The Bobcats lead was at least five points the rest of the way, getting up to eight points at the 18-10 mark after Stokes' second solo block. UC Merced also led by eight points at 22-14 before finishing off the sweep with two kills and a block from Owens. Del Grande was in on the block with Owens for match point.
UC Merced finished the night with a .333 hitting percentage, limiting La Sierra to just .055. The Bobcats had 9.5 blocks and eight aces in the sweep.
Braeden Lilomaiava made his collegiate debut.
Up next, UC Merced will begin its season-long seven-match road trip Benedictine Mesa on Friday, January 30. First serve is scheduled for 5:00pm PST inside of BENU PEC on the campus of Chandler Gilbert Community College in Mesa, Ariz.
