Want to see college volleyball’s top-ranked men’s team? It’ll be at UC Merced
Volleyball fans in the Merced area will get a rare opportunity this week to see the nation’s best men’s team.
The No. 1-ranked UCLA men’s volleyball team will play at UC Merced in matches on Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m.
UC Merced is playing its first season at the NCAA Division II level. The Bobcats are 4-14 overall and 1-9 in their first season playing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
The league features men’s volleyball powerhouses like Pepperdine, Stanford, USC and UCLA.
The conference currently features five teams in the NCAA Top 25 rankings: No. 1 UCLA, No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 10 USC, No. 15 Stanford and No. 17 BYU.
It’s been a challenging season for UC Merced, which is 4-14 overall and 1-9 in the MPSF. Now the Bobcats get to face a traditional powerhouse in UCLA, which is 21-1 overall and 8-1 in conference.
The Bruins are 21-time national champions, having won back-to-back titles in 2023-24. They come off a four-set victory over Pepperdine on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA dropped the first set, then won three consecutive sets to close out the match.
UCLA is led by Zach Rama, a 6-foot-8-inch senior with 286 kills, and Sean Kelly, a 6-7 sophomore with 281 kills.
UC Merced men’s volleyball’s inaugural season was in 2014 and the team joined the MPSF after competing in the California Pacific Conference since 2021.
The Bobcats are led by Mason Stokes, a 6-7 junior outside hitter out of Fresno who leads the team with 167 kills.
Whatever happens on the court, there’s no doubt fans will have fun off it. UC Merced has planned a “block party” before Friday’s match outside of Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The event will start from 4 to 6 p.m. and feature music, yard games, dance and cheer performances, and more.
This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
