ATHERTON, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team was defeated in five sets (18-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 15-7) by Menlo College on Friday night inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion.
The Bobcats (4-9, 1-3) five-set match was their second of the year, falling to 1-1 in five-set matches in 2026.
Natalie Riley led the Bobcats with a career-high 24 kills, becoming just the seventh player with 24+ kills in program history and just the second Bobcat to ever reach that mark in a conference road game (Alexa Ultreras/Oct. 17, 2024). Riley also had seven digs, a career-high tying two service aces, and a block.
Callie Neufeld had 11 kills and a career-high 21 digs for her fifth career double-double.
Yahaira Vazquez contributed eight kills and a block, while Morgan Wilson pitched in seven kills and two blocks, including one solo block.
Kyra Miller posted 48 assists, 13 digs, three blocks, one kill, and a service ace. Her 48 assists are tied for the second highest count in her career. Miller's double-double was her fifth of the season. Also of note, Miller passed Sera Riley for third in program history with 106 career service aces.
Jazmine Banks collected 19 digs and passed S. Riley for eighth in program history with 754 career digs.
Ayana Ruffin tied her career-high's with six blocks and five kills. One of Ruffin's six blocks was solo.
Gianella "GiGi" Tijamo tallied career-high's of 11 digs and four service aces.
As a team, UC Merced finished with a season-high eight blocks. The Bobcats also recorded 195 total attacks, their most in a match since October 19, 2023.
Menlo jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set that the Bobcats managed to erase with four straight points of their own a little later highlighted by a Wilson solo block. The Bobcats led 10-9 following the 4-0 run, but kept rolling and used a 9-2 extended run to go up 15-11 with strong play from Riley. Up 20-17, Riley earned the Bobcats a sideout with a kill and sent Banks to the service line. Banks followed with back-to-back service aces to set up set point, which was secured one rally later with Riley's seventh kill of the frame in the 25-18 win.
UC Merced scored the first five points of the second set and used an 8-2 run overall to start the frame. Vazquez and Riley each had two kills in the quick start. Shortly after, back-to-back service aces from Tijamo extended the Bobcats lead to seven points at 12-5. Tijamo's third ace of the frame got the Bobcats to 20 points while leading 20-14. Menlo responded with a 4-0 spurt, but the Bobcats nearly matched the Oaks burst with three straight points including back-to-back Riley kills to make it 23-18. Menlo kept battling and the Bobcats had to hold off the fighting Oaks team that pulled within a point at 24-23. Riley played hero again with a kill for set point, finishing the second set with seven more kills. UC Merced had 18 second-set kills as a team.
The Bobcats fell behind 5-1 to start the third set and trailed by at least three points until midway through the frame, closing the gap to 15-13 following a 3-0 boost powered by Neufeld. The Bobcats fell back behind by four points two rallies later and were still facing a four-point deficit later on at 22-18. Vazquez answered with a kill that was followed by back-to-back Menlo attack errors to bring the Bobcats within a point for the first time since the beginning of the set. However, Menlo scored the next three points to extend the match.
After four early ties and two lead changes, Dr. Anitra Brockman's team had a 6-2 run capped by a Ruffin and Riley block to lead 10-6. The Bobcats also led by four points at 13-9, but Menlo scored the next five points to jump back in front and used an 11-2 run overall to create separation with a 20-15 lead. Menlo and UC Merced alternated points the rest of the set with the Oaks forcing a fifth set with a 25-19 set four win. Menlo limited the Bobcats to just seven kills in the frame.
Menlo led wire-to-wire in the final frame and the Oaks first eight points all came via the kill, leading 8-5 at the time. After a Mariainez Lopez kill for the Bobcats, the Oaks pulled away for good with six straight points and a 7-1 match ending run. Menlo hit .476 in the fifth set to complete the reverse sweep.
UC Merced was reverse swept for the first time since September 8, 2025. The Bobcats had won its last four five-set matches before Friday.
