University of California, Merced – Bobcats Win Second Straight, Sweep Bucs on Friday Night

MESA, Ariz. – The University of California, Merced men’s volleyball team won their second straight match and jumped over .500 in California Pacific Conference play after sweeping Park University Gilbert 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 29-27) on Friday night at Bell Bank Park.

The Bobcats (5-7, 3-2) sweep was their first of the Cal Pac slate, second of the season overall.

Ryan Steele led the way for the Bobcats with 35 assists, a season-high nine digs, five kills and a season-high three blocks. Steele has recorded nearly every statistical superlative in his career, however during the Bobcats current two-match winning streak is the first time he has tallied at least 35 assists and five kills in back-to-back contests.

Trevor Jurlina finished with a season-high 12 kills, his highest output since last playing at Park Gilbert on March 9, 2020.

Brennan Taylor tied his career-high with eight kills on a .538 hitting percentage. This marked Taylor’s second straight match hitting over .500 with a minimum of ten attempts and third straight hitting over .450.

Chris Morikawa and Lance Nua were good for seven kills each. Morikawa’s offensive performance was supported by nine digs, four blocks and two service aces. His nine digs ties a season-high, while his blocks output ties a career-high originally set on February 7, 2020.

Colin Ryan played a huge role defensively with a career-high five blocks while anchoring the Bobcats in limiting the opponent to a .083 hitting percentage. While Ryan’s blocks total were a career-high, he has at least three blocks in three straight matches.

Nua added six digs and two blocks, one solo. 

Kainoa Ferguson pitched in six digs. Sebas Moreno was good for four digs and a service ace.

Friday night’s match was the second time this year in which multiple sets went past 25 points. The Bobcats also had to overcome a deficit in every set to earn the victory.

The Bobcats used a 7-0 run to erase an 18-13 deficit in the first set, and then tied 25-25, a Park Gilbert service error set up game point and Moreno scored it with a service ace.

Head coach Ai Prachumsri‘s team came back from a 12-8 deficit in the second set. Morikawa sparked the surge with back-to-back service aces. The Bobcats took their first lead at 21-20 and led to the finish. Steele scored set point with one of his five kills.

UC Merced trailed by as many as six points on multiple occasions in the third set. The first six-point deficit was at 17-11, with the latest…