University of California, Merced – Bobcats Fall in Straight Sets to BenU Mesa

MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women’s volleyball team fell in straight sets to Benedictine University Mesa on Thursday night, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 26-24) inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.

The Bobcats (5-7, 3-3) were led by Olanasaze Ojo‘s 15 kills and two blocks, one solo. Ojo has tallied at least 15 kills in three of her last four matches, however Thursday night marked a three-set career-high and she accomplished the feat with an impressive .355 hitting percentage. With her efforts, Ojo passed Kuuipolani Braceros for ninth in program history with 347 career kills.

Serena Choi was good for 14 assists, eight digs and tied her season-high with three blocks, while Bianca Malaluan added ten assists and two service aces. Malaluan has 2+ service aces in back-to-back matches. Destiny Lei Ramilo also has 2+ service aces in back-to-back outings.

Teola Nowak added seven kills. Valentina Evans held match-high with four blocks and Semiramis Tanasecu finished with three blocks and three kills.

Jalen Carey tallied 13 digs to garner her fifth double figure dig performance of the year. Tea Bishop and Alexa Ultreras finished with eight digs and six digs, respectively.

As a team, the Bobcats recorded three-set season-high’s of 51 digs and eight blocks.

Evans and Hannah Dillingham recorded the Bobcats first block within the games first three rallies, but the Bobcats were unable to build off that and had to play catchup in the opening set. The Bobcats fell behind 8-5 and 14-9, and although Ojo brought the Bobcats back within a point at 17-16, BenU Mesa responded with a strong end to the first set and would win it 25-17.

A 5-0 run highlighted by two kills and a block from Tanasecu put the Bobcats ahead 13-9 in the second set. Head coach Ai Prachumsri‘s team also led by four points at 15-11, but soon found themselves trailing at 17-15 after a 7-0 BenU Mesa run. The Bobcats were unable to retake the lead after that and fell behind 2-0 in the match.

Looking to avoid the sweep, the Bobcats won the first three rallies of the third set with Annamarie Caldero behind the service line. BenU responded with six straight points, only for the Bobcats to recover and take a 9-7 lead after an Ojo kill. Tied 11-11 soon after, Ojo smacked back-to-back kills and Malaluan had back-to-back service aces to put the home team up 15-11. The Bobcats were the first team to 20 points with the help of a Bishop and Evans block,…