University of California, Merced – Young Bobcats Shine in Road Win at Pacific Union

ANGWIN, Calif. – Aaron Taflinger notched a four-set program-record 23 digs and three Bobcats recorded double figure kills to propel the University of California, Merced men’s volleyball team to their second straight win, 3-1 (25-18, 26-24, 23-25, 26-24) over Pacific Union College late on Saturday night. 

The Bobcats (8-9, 6-4) have now won back-to-back games for the second time this season and have won five of the last seven heading into Sunday’s regular season finale that has win and you’re in postseason implications. 

While Taflinger’s defensive showing was a four-set program record, his 23 digs also tied UC Merced’s all-time record originally set by Zach Brill in a five-set affair against OUAZ on March 16, 2019. Taflinger is just the third player in program history with at least 20 digs in a match, joining the likes of Brill and Matthew Pelfini. The Leona Valley, Calif., native also had two service aces.

Freshman Jozef Lingenfelter and sophomore Jared Guglielmana highlighted the Bobcats offensively with a career-high 17 kills and a season-high 16 kills, respectively. Lingenfelter’s kills output was the highest by a UC Merced freshman since March 14, 2021. The duo each had six kills in a set, Lingenfelter owning the second frame and Guglielmana powering the Bobcats in the third set.

Guglielmana also finished with a .333 hitting percentage, a career-high eight digs and tied his career-high for the second straight match with three blocks.

Ryan Kilgore was the third Bobcat with double figure kills and was good for ten while also tying his career-high with seven digs.

Head coach Ai Prachumsri utilized a 6-2 offense for the first time this season and called upon freshmen Toby Miller and Sebas Moreno to quarterback the squad. The two were solid in their first career starts and both more than tripled their assists output on the year.

Moreno had 25 assists, while Miller recorded a double-double with 22 assists and 12 digs. 

Javier Larranaga pitched in a career-high seven kills.

Christopher Anthony Vang tallied a career-high five digs.

Other individual notables include four kills from Brennan Taylor and four kills and three blocks from Colin Ryan.

The Bobcats controlled the majority of the opening set and held multiple seven-point leads, including as early as the 14-7 mark. When PUC closed the gap to two points, Kaikoa Soma embarked on a strong service run to get the Bobcats back up by seven at 21-14. The two teams traded…