Men’s Volleyball – Mon, Feb. 20, 2023 at 8:40 PM
ANGWIN, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men’s volleyball team hit .390 or better in every set to sweep Pacific Union College on Sunday afternoon, 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-15) inside The Covered Wagon.
With the win, the Bobcats (5-6, 2-0) extended their winning streak to four games and are now 2-0 in Cal Pac play for the second time in the last three years.
Chris Morikawa led the Bobcats with 12 kills on a .526 hitting percentage, already his second match this year with double figure kills and a .500 or better success rate. Morikawa also recorded five digs, three service aces, and a solo block.
Brennan Taylor added a season-high six kills on a .625 hitting percentage and two blocks, one solo. Javy Larranaga pitched in six kills without an error on nine attempts.
Toby Miller quarterbacked the Bobcats offense to a .408 success rate overall with 25 assists and had a solo block for the third straight match.
Kaikoa Soma notched double figure digs for the second straight outing with eleven total.
Other individual notables include five kills and a service ace from Ryan Kilgore, and six assists and five digs from Sebas Moreno.
UC Merced dominated the opening set from start to finish behind a match-high .444 hitting percentage. Kilgore opened the day with a kill, the first of five straight points for the Bobcats and the first point of a 9-3 run overall. The Bobcats led by at least five the rest of the frame and extended their lead to double figures after a Morikawa service ace at 21-11.
The second set was tight leading up the latter stages. Tied 17-17, the Bobcats broke the deadlock and then scored three consecutive points with Moreno behind the service line to go up 21-17. Soon after, Morikawa scored the Bobcats 24th point with a kill and then a PUC attack error officially put the Bobcats up 2-0 in the match.
Head coach Ai Prachumsri‘s team jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the final frame and got points from seven different Bobcats in the stretch. Taylor scored twice with a kill and his solo block. The Bobcats extended the lead to seven points at 12-5 and pushed the advantage to eight down the stretch at 22-14, ultimately finishing off the sweep shortly after with a 25-15 win in the set.
Sunday marked the second time during the Bobcats four-match winning streak in which the Bobcats beat their opponent by double figures in two different frames.
The Bobcats improved to 6-0 all-time against Pacific Union College,…
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