University of California, Merced – Well-Rounded Effort Leads UC Merced to a Sweep Over Providence

MERCED, Calif. – Nine Bobcats had multiple kills and the University of California, Merced women’s volleyball team earned their fourth sweep in the last five matches with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-22) win over Providence Christian College on Friday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.

The Bobcats (11-15, 11-6) four sweeps in a five-match California Pacific Conference span is their most ever in program history.

Olivia Harden held match-high with ten kills and extended her double figure kill streak to five matches, tied for the longest streak in her career.

Lexus Lagumbay added ten digs, eight kills and a service ace. Her defensive efforts allowed her to pass Madison Mayoralgo for fourth in program history with 766 career digs. 

Valentina Evans and Yatzary Lua were good for five kills each with a .500 hitting percentage. Evans also shared match-high with two blocks and was the lone Bobcat with a solo block on Friday night. Evans has at least five kills and two blocks in three of the last four matches and four of the last six.

Lua’s kills output marked a career-high. 

Bianca Malaluan and Destiny Lei Ramilo held match-high with 18 assists and eleven digs, respectively. 

Lei Ramilo and Annamarie Caldero shared match-high with two service aces. Both Bobcats extended their service ace streak to a season-high four matches. The streak is a career-best for Caldero, who has multiple aces in three of the last four contests.

Other individual notables include ten assists and two blocks from Serena Choi, nine digs and five assists from Edwena Wong and four kills from Olanasaze Ojo. Teola Nowak and Brittany Johnson had a pair of blocks. 

The Bobcats tallied a .302 hitting percentage as a team, their fifth match this year with a .300 success rate or better. Three of those matches have come in the last ten days.

Head coach Ai Prachumsri‘s team led the entire first set and for the majority of rallies throughout the course of the night. A Lagumbay service ace got the match underway and the Bobcats scored the first three points overall. A 5-0 run soon after put the Bobcats ahead 12-4 and the squad earned their first double figure advantage at 20-10. The two teams traded sideouts the remainder of the frame and it was a Lagumbay kill for set point to get the Bobcats the 25-14 set one win.

Set two was close early but the Bobcats went on a surge and pulled away after finding themselves trailing 12-10. After a Providence attack error,