MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team dropped a five-set match to Menlo College on Saturday night, 3-2 (24-26, 14-25, 25-19, 25-20, 15-13).
The Bobcats (3-7, 0-3) tallied season-high's of 60 kills, 50 assists, and ten blocks in the loss. Also of note, the Bobcats 60 kills marked their most in a match since March 23, 2024.
Donovan Guglielmana delivered a career-performance with 21 kills and 11 digs. Both numbers were career-high's and his 21 kills marked the most by any Bobcat since March 18, 2023 (Chris Morikawa). Guglielmana finished with a .395 hitting percentage and added a service ace.
Mason Stokes tallied 12 kills, a career-high seven assists, three digs, and a solo block. The Fresno, Calif., native has 10+ kills in five matches this year.
Kaleb Cole added eleven kills, seven digs, a season-high three blocks, and two service aces. One of his three blocks was solo. He also had a service ace.
Freshman Anthony Alaniz was stellar in his Hostetler Court debut recording ten kills without an error on 17 attempts to go along with five blocks. All numbers were career-high's in his first career start. Alaniz also delivered a service ace. One of his five blocks was solo.
Toby Miller stuffed the stat sheet with 40 assists, six digs, a season-high five blocks, a service ace, and a kill. His blocking efforts moved him to tenth in program history with 95 career blocks, passing Morikawa. Miller also tied Matthew Pelfini for seventh in program history with 45 career aces.
Colin Ryan pitched in three kills and season-high's of three blocks, three digs, and two service aces.
UC Merced led for the majority of first set and by as many as four points after a Stokes kill to go up 16-12. However, Menlo College responded to the four-point deficit with a 7-2 run to take its first lead of the day, 19-18. After an Oaks attack error, Alaniz sent across his ace to put the Bobcats back in front. The set was tied 23-23 and 24-24 before Stokes gave the Bobcats another opportunity at set point with a kill. Miller went back to serve and Alaniz would team up with Cole for a block for set point.
The Bobcats carried momentum into the second set and had both a 6-0 run and a 5-0 run to take a 15-5 lead. Cole helped lead the strong start with three kills and a block. UC Merced extended its lead to eleven points with a block by Alaniz and Miller, 20-9. Up 22-14 later on, Guglielmana reeled off back-to-back-to-back kills to put an exclamation point on the set and give the Bobcats a 25-14 victory. He had seven kills in the frame overall. UC Merced hit .393 while limiting Menlo to a .038 hitting percentage.
Menlo jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set but the Bobcats recovered from the Oaks first punch and fought back to tie it at 9-9 highlighted by back-to-back blocks. However, the Oaks didn't falter and followed with a 9-0 run to double up the Bobcats at 18-9. The Bobcats couldn't get any closer than five points the rest of the frame, falling 25-19.
UC Merced led 4-1 in the fourth set but a 5-0 Oaks burst followed and they led the rest of the set. Menlo got to ten points first while leading 10-7 and got to 20 points leading 20-13. An ace from Cole cut the Bobcats deficit to four points, 21-17, but the Bobcats didn't make up any more ground and fell 25-20.
Back-to-back Stokes kills and a Cole kill put UC Merced up 3-1 in the fifth set. The Oaks scored the next three points and the set was tied at 4-4, 5-5, and 7-7. Menlo scored the point to switch sides, going up 8-7. The Oaks went up 10-7 and also led by three points at 13-10. Alaniz delivered a kill, while Cole followed with a solo block to make it a one point game at 13-12. Menlo had match point up 14-12 but a Cole kill kept the Bobcats alive. Menlo's Alexandre Ferdani ended the match with his 17th kill to finish the five-set win.
UC Merced fell to 0-2 in five-set matches this year.
Looking ahead, UC Merced will host Westcliff on Tuesday, March 3 at 6:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
