Head coach Ai Prachumsri is in his tenth season leading the UC Merced women’s volleyball program. Under Prachumsri, the Bobcats won the 2020 & 2024 California Pacific Conference Tournament Championship and have qualified for the conference tournament eight times. The Bobcats also won the Cal Pac Regular Season Championship in 2024 and Prachumsri was named the Cal Pac Coach of the Year.
The most familiar face of UC Merced volleyball, Prachumsri is also the longest tenured coach in the California Pacific Conference and has tallied 114 career wins. His overall record stands at 114-119, while his Cal Pac record is 92-52.
Prachumsri has coached some of the best players in program history, including the duo of Dominique Andrews and Jaysonna Johnson who were the first two NAIA honorable mention All-Americans in program history. Prachumsri had the pleasure of coaching the two all four years (2016-19) and they combined for seven All-Cal Pac honors and ten Cal Pac Player of the Week awards. In 2024, Sera Riley was named the Cal Pac Player of the Year and and a NAIA Third Team All-American. In total, Prachumsri has mentored 18 All-Cal Pac selections, 16 Cal Pac honorable mentions and his players have been named Cal Pac Player of the Week 51 times.
In six of the last nine years, Prachumsri and the Bobcats have finished higher in the final Cal Pac standings than projected in the Preseason Conference Group Poll.
Prachsumsri has also taken academics to heart with his team and women’s volleyball has held the department's top cumulative GPA five of the last seven years. Additionally, he has mentored 42 Chancellor’s List honorees, 40 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes and his student-athletes Rachael Schafer, Madison Mitchell, and Haley Branley have been named UC Merced's Female Intercollegiate Scholar Athlete of the Year.
In the 2023 campaign, UC Merced advanced to the Cal Pac Semifinals after playing to a 12-8 record in league play and beating Park Gilbert in the opening round. The Bobcats took two of three matches from Park throughout the year, and swept the season series with La Sierra, Antelope Valley, Providence Christian, Pacific Union, and Simpson. Overall, the Bobcats finished 14-19. Statistically, Prachumsri’s squad set program-records with 1528 kills, 1446 assists, 239 service aces, and 2284 digs. The Bobcats digs total ranked eighth in the NAIA, while the 239 aces ranked 19th. He mentored libero Destiny Lei Ramilo to break the program’s single-season digs record with 543 digs and he coached Alexa Ultreras to become the first player in program history with 330+ kills and 330+ digs in the same season. Both Lei Ramilo and Ultreras earned All-Cal Pac Second Team honors.
A year prior in 2022, the Bobcats finished 12-15 overall and 9-11 in Cal Pac play. The Bobcats 12 total wins were tied for the second highest win total under Prachumsri and it marked the second 12+ win season in a row and third in the last four years. The year started with a season-opening win over LC State College and sweep over West Coast Baptist College in the home opener. Then, the Bobcats won their Cal Pac opener in five sets over Providence Christian College. Other big wins throughout the season include knocking off Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for the first time since 2016 and completing a reverse sweep over Fresno Pacific University for the Bobcats first ever win over a NCAA Division II opponent. At the time of the five-set win, Fresno Pacific was in second-place in the PacWest Conference and 9-2 in their previous eleven games. From an individual standpoint, Olanasaze Ojo was named All-Cal Pac Second Team. Ojo and Serena Choi also earned Cal Pac Player of the Week honors during the season. Choi became the first player in program history with a triple-double and finished with three on the year.
The 2021 season saw the Bobcats win twelve of 18 California Pacific Conference matches and earn a program-record nine sweeps against league foes. Prachumsri’s squad earned three straight sweeps October 28-30. The Bobcats regular season success landed them a spot in the Cal Pac Tournament Quarterfinals, the sixth straight postseason appearance under Prachumsri. Also of note, the Bobcats went 7-2 at home in Cal Pac play. Prachumsri coached three postseason honorees in All-Cal Pac Second Team selection Olivia Harden and honorable mentions Lexus Lagumbay and Edwena Wong. Lagumbay featured one of the best serves in the country and her 0.55 service aces per set ranked 17th in the NAIA. Her 48 total service aces broke the program’s single-season record. As a team, the Bobcats ranked top five in the Cal Pac in blocks and service aces per set, while also ranking in the top half in hitting percentage and digs per set.
The Bobcats first ever conference championship win came 3-1 over University of Saint Katherine on April 6, 2021. The trophy also meant the Bobcats advanced to their first ever National Championship Opening Round. Overall, the Bobcats went 7-7 in the Spring of 2021 and had two separate three-match winning streaks. Prachumsri’s championship winning team consisted of just one senior which was starting libero Madison Mayoralgo. Welcoming in a squadron of new talent, the underclassman for the youngest team in program history accounted for 82% of the assists, 80% of the blocks, 60% of the service aces and 57% of the kills. Prachumsri’s top front row players Olivia Harden and Olanasaze Ojo earned All-Cal Pac Second Team honors and later were voted AVCA Southwest Region Honorable Mentions. Prachumsri also mentored assistant coach Caroline Mack into being named both the Cal Pac Assistant Coach of the Year and the AVCA Southwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year. Statistically, the Bobcats finished second in the Cal Pac with 1.8 blocks per set, third with a .184 hitting percentage and top five in the conference in assists per set and service aces per set.
The 2019 campaign saw the Bobcats win a program record 16 games overall and go 12-4 in conference play, earning a sixth straight berth to the California Pacific Conference Championships and entering as the No. 2 seed. The season got off to a great start as the Bobcats started off with a season opening win for the first time since 2015 and just a day later the Bobcats earned their first ever Top 25 win as they defeated #15 The Master’s University in five sets. The Bobcats had two different five-match winning streaks late in the season and finished with ten wins in their final 12 matches. Prachumsri’s team also won a program-record six straight road matches from October 12-November 9. Prior to that streak, the Bobcats had never won six true road matches in any previous season. Stellar play at the net was the name of the game for the Bobcats in 2019 as they recorded a program record 1,208 kills and 99 solo blocks. The Bobcats also led the Cal Pac with 2.2 blocks/set for the fourth year in a row. At the annual postseason banquet, Andrews and Johnson earned All-Cal Pac First Team honors while Emily Romo and Madison Mitchell were named honorable mention. The following day, the quartet led the Bobcats to a five-set win over La Sierra in the Cal Pac semifinals and put the Bobcats in the championship game for the second time in the last three years.
In 2018-19, the Bobcats were the conference’s number one blocking team for the third year in a row, checking in at 1.9 blocks per set. The strong blocking efforts parlayed with a fast-paced offensive attack carried the Bobcats down the stretch, winning seven of their final ten conference games to clinch a berth into the postseason. Overall, the Bobcats played to a 11-14 record, 9-7 in conference play. Under Prachumsri, Dominique Andrews became the program’s first ever All-American and broke the Bobcats single-season kills record with 354. Andrews, along with Cassandra Diaz and Jaysonna Johnson, earned All-California Pacific Conference recognition. Additionally, Prachumsri saw the rise of freshman Destiny Andersen and Lexus Kato-Lagumbay. Both players jumped into the program’s single-season Top 10 list, Andersen with 189 kills and Kato-Lagumbay with 219 digs.
In 2017-18, Prachumsri led the team to a 10-15 overall record and 9-5 California Pacific Conference record. After a tough non-conference slate, Prachumsri's team fought their way back into postseason contention and ended the regular season with eight wins in their final eleven games. UC Merced entered their fourth straight conference tournament and took Embry-Riddle (AZ) to a fifth set in the Cal Pac Championship game.
In addition to his coaching duties with the women’s team, Prachumsri was the head coach of the men's volleyball team for nine years from 2017-2025. His 2024 squad won the program's first Cal Pac Regular Season Championship before the 2025 squad made more history with a Cal Pac Tournament Championship. Also of note, Prachumsri was named the California Pacific Conference Coach of the Year in 2021 & 2025. Prachumsri is the winningest coach in program history with a 98-98 overall record. He has coached three AVCA NAIA Honorable Mentions in his time at the helm of the men’s volleyball team.
Prior to his time as the head women’s volleyball coach, Prachumsri was the lead assistant for the program in 2015. Additionally, Prachumsri was a member of the UC Merced men's volleyball coaching staff for two seasons (2014-15 & 2015-16).
Prior to his time as a coach at UC Merced, Prachumsri was a student athlete on campus and graduated in 2014 with a degree in Bioengineering. As a student athlete at UC Merced, he competed as a member of the men's volleyball club team for three years and in 2013, as the program was elevated to the intercollegiate level, he competed as the starting libero for the inaugural squad. The 2013-14 Bobcat Award winner is currently third in program history with 1.92 digs per set.
In the classroom, Prachumsri was one of the top students on campus and in the engineering department as he was honored on the Chancellor’s List all five years. During his time on campus he also took on additional responsibilities as the Intramurals Student Coordinator and as a Student Athlete Learning Assistant, helping tutor his fellow student athletes.
A native of Thailand, Prachumsri made Torrance, California his hometown at the age of 14. Following in the youthful tradition of firsts for UC Merced, he is notably the first UC Merced alum to hold a collegiate head coaching position.
Prachumsri completed a master’s degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in strength and conditioning and orthopedic rehabilitation from AT Still University.
