LA JOLLA, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team lost in straight sets to No. 10 UC San Diego, 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-15) on Monday afternoon inside LionTree Arena.
The Bobcats (3-4) managed to garner a few one-point leads in the first and second set against their second nationally-ranked opponent of the season.
Kaleb Cole led the Bobcats with ten kills, matching the highest kills output by any Bobcat against a NCAA Division I opponent since Chris Morikawa in 2022. Cole also had three digs, a block, and a service ace.
Toby Miller finished with 20 assists, two kills, and two digs.
Mason Stokes added five kills.
Jozef Lingenfelter recorded three kills without on error on five swings to go along with three blocks and a service ace. He is the first Bobcat since Jacob Semon in 2020 with three blocks against a NCAA Division One foe.
Colin Ryan had two kills, a block, and his first service ace of the year.
Other notables include two blocks from Daniel Del Grande, four digs from Braeden Lilomaiava, and three digs from George Buljan.
Lingenfelter delivered the first kill of the match before UC San Diego had its first run of the game, a 12-4 run with seven Triton kills. Lingenfelter had a couple more kills in the set to keep the Bobcats a burst away from threatening UCSD, getting within five at the 15-10 mark. However, the Tritons followed with a 6-1 run to go up by double figures for the first time at 21-11. The teams traded sideouts to the finish in the Tritons 25-15 set one win. UCSD had a .708 (17/0/24) hitting percentage in the frame.
The Bobcats erased an early 3-0 deficit in the second set with a 6-3 spurt highlighted by back-to-back Stokes kills. After falling behind by three again, UC Merced had another run in them and this time it gave them a 13-12 lead capped by a Del Grande and Lingenfelter block. The Bobcats also led 14-13 after a Cole kill. Tied 15-15, UC San Diego created separation with a 6-1 run. UC Merced only got as close as three the rest of the set, falling 25-21.
UC Merced was within a point multiple times in the third set including as late as the 14-13 mark. Four different Bobcats had a kill in the first part of the set to stay close. UC San Diego pulled away in the second part of the set, exploding on a 10-1 run with the help of seven kills to reach match point. Max Niederberger staved off one Tritons set point with a kill before a service error ended the match.
UCSD finished the contest hitting .507.
Greyson Glorieux made his collegiate debut.
Up next, UC Merced will play at No. 17 CSUN on Friday, February 20. First serve Premier America Credit Union in Northridge, Calif., is scheduled for 6:00pm.
