ROCKLIN, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's volleyball team dropped its season finale in straight sets on Friday night at Warrior Arena, 3-0 (25-15, 30-28, 25-19).
Jozef Lingenfelter led the Bobcats (4-18, 1-13) with nine kills and two blocks, one solo, and jumped up one spot in two more statistical categories in his final career game. He passed Jared Guglielmana for fourth all-time in program history with 39 career solo blocks and passed Cole Smith for ninth all-time with 250 career sets played.
Mason Stokes added seven kills, six digs, one service ace, and one block. His team-high 194 kills and 20 service aces throughout the year are both good for top ten on the Bobcats single-season record list. He joins just Ryan Kilgore and Chris Morikawa as the only three Bobcats in program history with at least 190 kills and 20 aces in the same season.
Toby Miller contributed 25 assists, six digs, a block, and a kill in his final career game. With his assists output, he becomes the second Bobcat all-time with 400+ assists in four different campaigns.
Joshua Woodhams pitched in seven kills.
Other notables include three kills from Colin Ryan, two blocks and a service ace for Daniel Del Grande, and a service ace for Anthony Alaniz.
The Bobcats jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the opening set but were unable to get to ten points first. Tied 9-9, Jessup exploded on an 11-2 run to create separation and ultimately go up 1-0 in the match with a 25-15 set one win. Jessup needed just eight kills but hit .500 in the frame.
UC Merced scored the first two points of the second set and reached ten points while in front 10-8. The Bobcats would hold a few three-point leads, but the set was then tied at every digit from 17-22. Del Grande and Lingenfelter broke the 22-22 tie with a block followed by a Stokes kill to put the Bobcats at set point, 24-22. Jessup won the next two rallies to force extra points and the Warriors had a chance at set point up 26-25. Ryan countered with back-to-back kills, but the Bobcats were unable to score set point despite leading 27-26 and 28-27. Jessup staved off five set points overall and would score three straight points to win the set 30-28.
Jessup led 5-2 to start the third set and doubled the lead to 12-6 on its way to the sweep. The Bobcats didn't get any closer than four points the rest of the way, while trailing by as many as eight at both 18-10 and 20-12. UC Merced scored four straight to make it 20-16 highlighted by Lingenfelter's solo block but the push ended there in defeat.
UC Merced's first season in the MPSF and NCAA Division II comes to a close. The Bobcats season was highlighted by beating Concordia University Irvine in four sets on March 27. UC Merced played eight matches against NCAA Division One Top 10 opponents.
Stay up to date with UC Merced men's volleyball by following the team on X and Instagram at ucmercedmvb.
