MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team was swept by No. 6 BYU in front of a standing-room only crowd of 736 fans on Friday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium, 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-13).

Not only did the Bobcats (3-9, 0-4) host BYU for the first time ever, the nationally-ranked Cougars marked the first ever NCAA Division One opponent to play on Hostetler Court.

Anthony Alaniz led the Bobcats with five kills, two blocks, and a service ace. The freshman tallied his five kills without an error on seven swings. One of his two blocks was solo.

Toby Miller had 17 assists, two digs, and a kill.

Kaleb Cole, Daniel Del Grande, and Jozef Lingenfelter pitched in three kills each.

Other notables include two kills and an ace for Donovan Guglielmana and a solo block from Mason Stokes.

The Bobcats fared well early and had a quick 4-1 advantage highlighted by a Cole kill. UC Merced led 8-6 a few rallies later after Alaniz's solo block. BYU responded with three straight points for its first lead of the frame, 9-8. Four lead changes followed and the Bobcats held a 14-13 advantage midway through the frame. BYU started to find its rhythm offensively and put down five kills in a 7-1 run to create separation and get to 20 points first, leading 20-15. The teams traded sideouts the rest of the way with the Bobcats getting no closer than four.

BYU led wire-to-wire in set two and scored back-to-back points on eight occasions. The Bobcats limited the longest BYU run to just three points, however the Bobcats never scored consecutive points throughout the whole set on their way to falling 25-12. Lingenfelter led the Bobcats scoring in the second set with three kills and a block.

BYU's setter Tyler Herget led the Cougars on a 9-0 run to start the third set as he tallied four assists, two service aces, and a block in the explosion. BYU went on an extended 16-4 run overall for the biggest lead of the set. UC Merced got as close as nine points a few times, including at 19-10 after a Joshua Woodhams kill. BYU hit .500 in the final frame while holding the Bobcats to a .000 mark.

BYU finished the game hitting .441.

Up next, UC Merced will play at Vanguard on Friday, March 13. First serve from Freed Center for Leadership in Costa Mesa, Calif., is scheduled for 6:00pm.