University of California, Merced – Men’s Volleyball Falls in Straight Sets to #11 The Master’s University

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men’s volleyball team lost in straight sets to #11 The Master’s University on Friday night, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-20).

TMU has started the season with three straight sweeps, including against the #1 team in the nation and back-to-back national champion Grand View University.

The Bobcats (1-3) got kills out of eight different players in the Friday night showdown.

Chris Morikawa led UC Merced’s efforts with six kills, four digs, and a service ace. The senior continues to move up the program’s record books, this time passing Cole Smith and moving into a tie with Kainoa Ferguson for second in program history with 52 career service aces. Morikawa also passed Smith for fifth in program history with 330 career digs.

Jozef Lingenfelter was good for four kills on five swings in addition to a service ace. Jared Schnake had four kills and four digs.

Toby Miller recorded 14 assists and three kills.

Other individual notables include four digs from Ashton Wooldridge and a solo block from Jared Guglielmana.

TMU was led by Nolan Flexen’s ten kills and five service aces. He had three kills early on to help his team score the first seven points in the match.

UC Merced started chipping away at the first set deficit, pulling within two points at 15-13 following Morikawa’s ace. However, the Bobcats then fell victim of a 4-0 TMU run and were never able to recover after that, ultimately falling 25-19 in the opening frame.

UC Merced was unable to respond in the second set, falling behind by ten points at the 17-7 mark and failed to get within eight points the rest of the way.

Morikawa opened the third set with a kill to put the Bobcats on top in a set for the first time all night. UC Merced led by two points at 8-6 prior to the Mustangs reeling off five straight points for the final lead change of the match. Head coach Ai Prachumsri‘s team put up a good fight looking to stave off the sweep, staying within three points until the 22-18 mark.

Looking ahead, UC Merced will play fourth-ranked Vanguard University on Saturday, February 4 at 7:00pm. First serve from Calvary Chapel High School in Costa Mesa, Calif., is scheduled for 7:00pm.