COSTA MESA, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team (3-11, 0-6) was swept by Vanguard on Saturday afternoon, falling by set scores of 26-24, 25-18, 25-19.
Joshua Woodhams led the Bobcats with career-high's of 12 kills and nine digs. The junior has led UC Merced in both statistical categories in back-to-back matches.
Mason Stokes tallied ten kills, four digs, and a block.
Cody Krohn finished with 14 assists, a kill, and a solo block in his first career start. He played the first two sets.
Joel Toves added nine assists, three digs, and a service ace in the third set.
Daniel Del Grande had two kills and three blocks, two solo. He passed Emmanuel Egun for sixth all-time in program history with 126 career blocks and passed both Chris Morikawa and Brennan Taylor for seventh in program history with 34 career solo blocks.
Other notables include a career-high six digs and three kills from Achilles Huang and a service ace for the fifth consecutive match for Anthony Alaniz.
Vanguard scored the first four points of the opening frame and extended its lead to 15-8 later in the set. The Bobcats responded with a 5-0 burst to pull within a pair highlighted by a Del Grande solo block. UC Merced trailed 20-17 a little later, but battled back with four straight points to take their first lead of the set at 21-20. The Bobcats also led 23-22 before Vanguard had first chance at set point, 24-23. Woodhams delivered a kill to force extra points. The Lions finished the frame with back-to-back kills, giving them 16 in the set, to go up 1-0 in the match.
UC Merced was unable to recover from an early five-point deficit in the second set and never led. The Bobcats cut the deficit to four points on multiple occasions but that was as close as they got. Vanguard's biggest lead was eight points at 23-15 on its way to a 2-0 match lead.
The Bobcats jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third set and led as late as 16-15 before falling. Stokes was a big reason for the Bobcats success as he had five of the Bobcats first 16 points via the kill. Tied 17-17, Vanguard scored four straight points and had a 7-2 match-ending to finish off the sweep. Six of Vanguard's final seven points came via the kill as the Lions recorded an impressive .600 hitting percentage (16/1/25) in the final set.
Up next, UC Merced will play at No. 6 Pepperdine on Friday, March 20. First serve from Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif., is scheduled for 6:00pm.
