ATHERTON, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team lost 3-0 to Menlo College on Friday night by set scores of 25-19, 25-19, 25-21.

The Bobcats fell to 3-6 overall and 0-2 in MPSF action.

Toby Miller quarterbacked the offense once again and became the second player in program history to reach 2,000 career assists, joining only Ryan Steele. Miller had 18 assists, four digs, two kills, a block, and a service ace in Friday night's match. Also of note, Miller passed Zach Brill and Jared Guglielmana for third all-time with 281 career sets played.

 Mason Stokes was the Bobcats kills leader with seven kills to go along with three digs, a service ace, and a block.

Kaleb Cole had six kills and a career-high tying nine digs. Cole also had two blocks, one solo, and a service ace.

Colin Ryan pitched in two kills, a career-high tying two service aces, and two blocks, one solo.

Daniel Del Grande notched two blocks, including one solo to pass Emmanuel Egun for ninth in program history with 31 career solo blocks.

The Bobcats scored the first two points of the opening set but couldn't recover after a 13-3 Menlo College run, falling behind by eight. The Bobcats managed to pull within three points a few times, including after a Stokes kill to make it 20-17, before falling 25-19.

The second set saw 15 ties and seven lead changes as the two teams traded sideouts for the majority of the frame. Menlo was the first to ten points but committed back-to-back errors to allow the Bobcats to jump back in front, 11-10. Later on, the Bobcats scored three consecutive points to take a 17-16 advantage, highlighted by a triple block. Tied 18-18, the Oaks then reeled off a 7-1 set-ending run to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

UC Merced erased an early four-point deficit in the third set with a 5-1 run capped by a block by Stokes and Max Niederberger. The Bobcats continued their burst into an extended 10-4 run to grab a 12-10 lead that saw Miller deliver his ace. However, the Oaks countered with a 4-0 burst and never relinquished the lead. UC Merced kept battling and was within a point on multiple occasions, including as late as 22-21, before ultimately being swept. Menlo College recorded a match-high .286 hitting percentage in the third frame to finish its first MPSF win of the year.

Up next, UC Merced will host Menlo on Saturday, February 28 at 6:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium in Merced, Calif.