MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team beat Concordia University Irvine 3-1 on Friday night for the first MPSF win in program history.
The Bobcats (4-13, 1-8) won by set scores of 25-16, 25-21, 10-25, and 25-22.
Mason Stokes led the Bobcats with a MPSF career-high 14 kills on a .357 hitting percentage. He also collected a career-high eight digs and three assists.
Achilles Huang tallied a career-high 12 kills, five digs, and a career-high three blocks. The freshman operated at a .346 success rate offensively.
Kaleb Cole delivered ten kills on a .571 hitting percentage to go along with six digs. He reached his totals in three sets.
Joshua Woodhams pitched in nine kills on a .400 success rate. He added four digs, two blocks, and a career-high two service aces.
Joel Toves put up 31 assists and six digs in his second consecutive start.
Toby Miller recorded eight assists in the fourth set and had a kill.
Anthony Alaniz registered four blocks.
Pomaikainokeakua Kahaulelio collected a career-high seven digs.
The Bobcats went up 1-0 in the match behind a stellar .667 hitting percentage (15/1/21). Tied 3-3, Huang delivered back-to-back kills to start a 4-0 scoring run for the Bobcats and a 7-1 burst overall. Another 4-0 spurt later on highlighted by back-to-back Stokes kills put UC Merced up 16-8. The two teams alternated sideouts for the next 16 rallies and it was a Woodhams kill put the Bobcats at set point, leading 24-16. Huang and Alaniz then teamed up for a block to score set point, winning 25-16.
The Bobcats trailed 6-2 in the second set before fighting back to pull even at 8-8 and grab a lead at 10-9. Shortly after, two straight kills from Stokes pushed the Bobcats lead to two points for the first time in the frame, 12-10. UC Merced would lead the rest of the way, but every point was a sideout and the Bobcats lead was one at 19-18. Huang made it 20-18 with a kill, and then Cole came off the bench to deliver back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 22-18. The Golden Eagles responded with two straight kills of their own before Huang got one back to give the Bobcats a 23-20 lead. Woodhams followed with a service ace. After a CUI kill, the Bobcats scored set point on a CUI setting error to go up 2-0 in the match.
Concordia responded in the third set and outhit the Bobcats .588 to -.192 to extend the match. CUI scored the first three points of the frame to set the tone and led by double figures as early as the 14-4 mark. CUI reached 20 points while leading 20-7 on the way to a set three victory.
The fourth set had five early ties and three early lead changes, but CUI used a 5-1 run to create the first separation and hold an 8-5 lead. The Bobcats trailed by as many as four points at 11-7 but kept fighting, getting back-to-back kills from Cole to cut the deficit in half. The teams traded points for the next eight rallies before Cole and Stokes went back-to-back to make it a one-point game at 15-14. Cole stayed hot and delivered two more kills shortly after to put the Bobcats on top 18-17. Three ties later the teams were all even at 22-22. Miller delivered a kill to go up 23-22 and then a CUI attack error put Huang serving for match point. Out of a CUI timeout, Huang delivered an ace for the historical match point.
The Bobcats win also marked their first victory over CUI in eight all-time meetings. The Bobcats last matchup with CUI was in 2017 prior to tonight.
UC Merced finished the match with a .297 hitting percentage, the Bobcats highest in a MPSF match this year.
The Bobcats had more kills (50-47), assists (49-42), and digs (37-35) than CUI. Both teams had five blocks and four service aces.
Up next, UC Merced and Concordia University Irvine will meet again on Saturday, March 28 inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium in Merced, Calif. First serve is scheduled for 6:00pm.
