Men's Volleyball

The year just ending has been one for the college sports record books and many kudos are due to the Bobcat athletes and their coaches.

UC Merced men’s and women’s outdoor track swept the California Pacific (Cal Pac) Conference Championships in their inaugural seasons. Women’s soccer beat 14^th-ranked Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the Cal Pac Tournament Championship game and got to hoist their first trophy in front of Bobcat Nation on Bobcat Field.

It’s an incredible time to be a Bobcat student-athlete.

In a year turned inside-out by COVID-19, UC Merced’s intercollegiate teams have risen above with atmospheric levels of success.

With all sports seasons shifted to spring because of the global pandemic, UC Merced squads burst out of the gate and racked up one success after another.

COVID-19 might have prevented graduating senior Joey Medina from playing his final volleyball match with his teammates this spring, but one thing might soften the blow — being featured on ESPN.

It is often said in sports that you have to struggle and overcome adversity before being able to bask in the glory of success.

UC Merced athletics has faced adversity since first transitioning from a recreation program to a NAIA member eight years ago.

But the wait for success was, well, not long at all.

Last fall, Turlock native Marcus DeCouto reminded the sports scene that UC Merced consistently brings some of the top freshmen to the California Pacific Conference.

DeCouto, now a sophomore midfielder on the Bobcats’ men’s soccer team, became the first Cal Pac player since 2015 to record at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a single season. To little surprise, he was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year.

UC Merced’s Athletics Department has hired women's volleyball coach and alumnus Surabordin "Ai" Prachumsri as the men's volleyball head coach.