FRESNO, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's volleyball team battled but fell in four sets to Jessup in the 2026 season opener on Friday, 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19) at the Sunbird Classic inside the Special Events Center.
Despite the loss, many Bobcats made a splash in the season opener and posted stat lines that had not been accomplished in a UC Merced uniform in quite some time.
Friday also marked the Bobcats first match under new head coach Dr. Anitra Brockman.
Natalie Riley led the Bobcats offense with a career-high 16 kills, the most kills by any Bobcat in a season opener since at least 2019. Riley also had seven digs and two service aces.
Morgan Wilson turned in a four-set career-high 12 kills on a .440 hitting percentage to go along with a career-high three service aces. With her kills output, Wilson passed Olivia Harden for ninth all-time on the program's all-time kills list with 495 career kills.
Kyra Miller recorded a career-high 42 assists, the most by any Bobcat since Serena Choi on April 5, 2021. Miller added 15 digs for her 13th career double-double and the senior rounded out her stat line with four kills, three blocks, and a service ace. Two of her three blocks were solo.
Jazmine Banks tied the program's four-set record with a career-high 30 digs. Overall, Banks is the first Bobcat with at least 30 digs since Cassandra Diaz on November 11, 2017. Also of note, Banks' 30 digs were the most in a four-set match by any CCAA player since Cal State East Bay's Kale'a Kuam'o on September 12, 2024. Banks added a career-high seven assists.
Yahaira Vazquez delivered nine kills, a career-high eight digs, and two blocks. Other notables include four kills and two blocks from Ayana Ruffin, eight digs from Mariainez Lopez, and a solo block from Giselle Henley.
UC Merced came out strong and led 5-1 after a pair of kills and an ace from Riley. UC Merced then led 9-6 in the frame, but fell behind for the first time after a 6-0 Jessup run. Riley countered with three consecutive kills to pull even 12-12. A strong stretch from Vazquez had the Bobcats up 17-13, enough to keep the Bobcats in front for the rest of the frame. Vazquez and Ruffin combined for the Bobcats 20th point via the block, putting the Bobcats up 20-17. UC Merced went up by four points at 22-18 with a Miller kill and went on to take the first set 25-21.
UC Merced erased an early 7-3 deficit in the second set to tie the score 8-8. A little later with the Bobcats trailing 11-9, UC Merced reeled off an 8-3 run to garner a 17-14 lead capped by a Miller kill. However, Jessup regained the advantage at 20-19 and the Bobcats were unable to recover, dropping the set 25-22.
The Bobcats opened the third set with a 5-0 run that included a Miller ace and kill. Brockman's squad led by as many as seven points at 10-3 when Miller and Ruffin combined for a block. The Bobcats were up 12-6 before Jessup fought back and exploded on a 12-2 run to flip the scoreline, making it 18-14 Jessup in front. A Callie Neufeld kill followed by back-to-back Wilson aces gave the Bobcats some life back down by just one point at 18-17, but Jessup stayed poised and would create late separation while winning the frame 25-20.
UC Merced held a couple early leads in the fourth set but were playing from behind for the majority of what would be the final frame. Jessup led by four points at 11-7 but the Bobcats continued to battle and trailed by less then four until the 19-15 mark. Before the 19-15 scoreline, the Bobcats pulled within a point on three occasions including on a Miller solo block. UC Merced's deficit was six points at 21-15. The two teams traded sideouts to the finish with Jessup finishing the match with a 25-19 win.
Despite the loss, the Bobcats had 54 kills overall on a .163 hitting percentage compared to Jessup's 38 kills hitting .121. UC Merced was plagued by 19 service errors, while Jessup committed just four.
Neufeld and Eve Dixon made their collegiate debut. Lopez' outing was her first in a UC Merced uniform.
Up next, UC Merced will continue opening weekend at the Sunbird Classic against Hawai'i Hilo and Western Oregon on Saturday, August 29 starting at 12:00pm.
