TURLOCK, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball fell 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 18-25, 25-12) Saturday morning to UC Merced at the Stanislaus State Volleyball Tournament at Fitzpatrick Arena.
Reagan Macha had a match-high 16 kills and added 13 digs to record her first double-double as a Penguin. Sera Riley added 16 kills of her own to go with four aces to lead the Bobcats. Dominican had nine blocks nearly doubling its opponent, but UC Merced used a .192 hitting percentage to find the floor for 53 kills.
The first set began on a seesaw with the teams trading 2-point swings and trading the lead. The Bobcats created some breathing room with a 4-1 run capped by a block from Morgan Wilson and Kyra Miller to take a 12-9 lead. Riley added to the UC Merced lead as she found the floor on an ace and then added a back row kill to make it 17-11. Macha put down back-to-back attacks with some power to finish a 4-1 run that closed the Penguins' gap to three, but the Bobcats answered with three straight kills to regain the cushion they needed to win the opening set.
The second set proceeded in a similar manner as Riley found the floor for a pair of kills in a 5-1 run that opened a 13-8 lead. Dominican made a late 6-0 run to stave off multiple match points and close the gap to 24-19, but the lead was too large to overcome, and the Bobcats took the set on a kill by Semiramis Tanasescu.
The Penguins rode their late momentum into the third set as
Kali Young found the floor for a kill before combining with
Ashlyn Daugherty for the block to spark a 3-point run and take a 6-3 lead early. After trading the next several points
Reese Bozak found the floor to start another 3-0 burst that extended the Dominican lead to five at 13-8. After UC Merced closed back within one,
Camille Rivers found Daugherty and Macha for a pair of kills to open a three-point advantage. Once again, the Bobcats closed back and tied the match at 18 with a 3-0 run and forcing a Penguin timeout. Dominican responded as
Braenwynne Matthews found the floor on back-to-back swings before
Rein Bocage ended the set and the 7-0 run with an ace.
UC Merced was able to flip the script in the fourth and opened on an 11-3 run taking a commanding lead. Macha helped the Penguins mount a rally with two kills and a block assist in a 6-1 run that closed the Bobcat lead to 15-11. It was all UC Merced from there closing on a 10-1 run to take the match.
Dominican will return to the court Saturday night against the host, Stanislaus State, at 7:30 p.m. to conclude its competition at the tournament.
