Men’s Volleyball – Fri, Mar. 17, 2023 at 11:50 PM
MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men’s volleyball team lost in straight sets to second-ranked Benedictine University Mesa, falling 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-17) on Friday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
Chris Morikawa led the Bobcats (7-12, 4-5) with eleven kills, four digs, and a service ace. Morikawa’s offensive efforts put him over 200 kills for the year and the Yorba Linda, Calif., native becomes the first player in program history to tally 200 or more kills in three different seasons (2020, 2022, 2023).
Jared Guglielmana recorded five kills and a service ace, while Toby Miller had 15 assists. In addition, the duo finished with four digs each.
Kaikoa Soma was good for eight digs. Other individual notables include a service ace each from Lincoln Smith and Nathan Campbell.
Benedictine University Mesa was led by Landon Fuller’s 14 kills on a .440 hitting percentage and three service aces. Tyler Watts tallied six blocks.
Despite getting swept, UC Merced put together a pair of quality stretches that had them out in front 8-4 in the opening set and 19-16 in the second set.
The Bobcats 19-16 lead in the second set came at the peak of a match-long 6-0 run highlighted by a kill each from Guglielmana and Javy Larranaga. Dylan Jong was behind the service line during the surge. However, BenU Mesa countered with a 10-5 set-ending run that put them ahead 2-0 in the match.
BenU Mesa carried momentum into the third set, scoring the first four points and extending their lead to eight points as early as the 13-5 mark. Head coach Ai Prachumsri‘s team cut the Redhawks lead down to three points via a 5-0 run, but after BenU Mesa earned a sideout, the margin was four points or more the rest of the way. The Redhawks hit a match-high .391 in the final set with eleven kills and just two errors.
Up next, UC Merced hosts Park University Gilbert on Saturday, March 18 at 5:00pm for Senior Night and the 2023 home finale.
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