University of California, Merced – Bobcats Fall in Cal Pac Tournament Championship Match

SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men’s volleyball team fell in straight sets to top-seeded Benedictine University Mesa in the California Pacific Conference Tournament Championship match, 0-3 (19-25, 20-25, 18-25) Saturday afternoon at the USK Sports Complex.

The Bobcats (10-10) earned a right to compete for the Cal Pac trophy back-to-back years and finish the campaign with double figure wins for the second straight year and for the fourth time in the last five years.

Ryan Kilgore held team-high with eight kills and two solo blocks, while Lance Nua and Chris Morikawa were each good for six kills and four digs. Nua finished with a .455 hitting percentage. Morikawa had a service ace for the third straight match.

Senior Ryan Steele eclipsed 3,000 career assists in his final collegiate contest, finishing with 23 assists, two kills and a block in the match. Steele is the second player in Cal Pac history to go over 3,000 career assists, joining BenU Mesa’s Jaron Jones.

Other individual notables from the championship match include five digs from Zach Brill, three blocks from Colin Ryan and three kills from Brennan Taylor.

The Bobcats never led in the first or the second set, but managed to stay within three points for at least the first 15 rallies. The Bobcats fell behind by as many seven points at 18-11 in the opening frame.

The Bobcats also fell behind by seven points in the second set before cutting the deficit to just two points at 22-20 to give themselves a chance. However, BenU Mesa scored the next three points to win 25-20 and go up 2-0 in the match.

Head coach Ai Prachumsri‘s team was able to grab their first lead at 3-2 in the third set after a pair of opponent ball handling errors. The Bobcats also led 6-4 with their final lead being 15-14. Kilgore had four of his eight kills in the third set to help give the Bobcats their advantages. BenU Mesa ended the match on an 11-3 run to win their second straight Cal Pac Tournament Championship.

The Redhawks were led by Cal Pac Player of the Year Landon Fuller’s 16 kills on a .565 hitting percentage. BenU Mesa, the eighth ranked team in the nation, hit .362 on the afternoon.

To stay up to date with everything UC Merced men’s volleyball in the offseason, follow @UCMercedMVB on Twitter and Instagram.