Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Hope International University

MVB vs UC Merced
3
Winner Hope International HOPE INT 5-1, 0-0
2
UC Merced UC MERCE 2-5, 0-0
Winner
Hope International HOPE INT
5-1, 0-0
3
Final
2
UC Merced UC MERCE
2-5, 0-0
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Hope International HOPE INT 21 25 27 21 15 (3)
UC Merced UC MERCE 25 21 25 25 13 (2)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball | | Robert Nilsen

Royals Defeat Bobcats in Five Set Thriller

Merced, CA - The Hope International men's volleyball team (5-1) extended their winning streak to five games as they took down the UC Merced Bobcats 3-2 in a five set thriller on Friday evening on the road in Merced, CA.

The Royals would score the first two points of the game on back to back kills from Cole Oliver and Julian Zavala but the Bobcats took over from there as they built a 15-11 advantage. The Royals would eventually tie it 17-17 but they were never able to take the lead back as they fell 25-21 and trailed 1-0. The Bobcats took the early lead in the second set but the Royals stayed with them point for point before a block by Sean Seaman and Julian Zavala put the Royals up 10-9. The Bobcats would stay right with the Royals as the game was level 14-14 before the Royals took control with an 8-2 run led by back to back kills from Zavala and aces from Kyler Tufuga and Oliver to take a 22-16 lead. The Bobcats regrouped after a timeout and came racing back to make it 24-22. The Royals didn't let up as Tufuga set up Oliver for the set winning kill to win 25-22 and tie it 1-1.

The Royals led from start to finish in the third set but it wasn't easy as the Royals pulled out to a 15-12 advantage with three straight kills from Oliver. The Bobcats tried to regroup but Oliver had three more kills in a row to extend the Royals lead to 18-14. The Bobcats didn't give up as they rallied to tie it 20-20. The teams then exchanged points before the Royals took a 24-22 but the Bobcats denied the Royals twice of the set winning point until Oliver stepped up with another kill to win the set 27-25 and put the Royals up 2-1. The Royals looked to close out the game in the fourth set but the Bobcats had other ideas as they went on to lead 13-8. The Royals tried to regroup after a timeout but the Bobcats extended their lead to 20-14. The Royals then railled with two kills and ace from Coby Prowse to tie it 20-20. The Bobcats weren't to be denied though as they won 25-21 to tie the game 2-2. 

The Royals took the momentum back to start the fifth set as they raced out to a 5-1 lead with another kill by Oliver. The Bobcats closed back within 7-5 but the Royals kept pushing ahead as they took a 13-9 lead with a block from Damon Potter and Prowse. The Bobcats kept fighting as they made it 14-13 but the Royals weren't to be denied as Seaman and Prowse delivered a huge block to win the set 15-13 and the game 3-2. Oliver led with 22 kills while Tufuga had 45 assists. 

The Royals wrap up their Northern California road trip as they head to the Bay Area to take on Menlo on Saturday, February 15 at 1:00 PM in Atherton, CA.
Print Friendly Version