LAKE WALES, Fla. – The Bluefield College men's volleyball squad faced its first-ever matches on Saturday, falling in three sets against both University of California – Merced (20-25, 12-25, 17-25) and Warner University (18-25, 15-25, 16-25).
 
UC-Merced, a second-year program, earned its first win of the season to move to 1-4, while the more established program of the Royals' leapt to 3-0, having taken a pair of wins over UC-Merced.
 
Connor Holland put down a team-best seven kills in the opening game, while Chase Craycraft added five kills and had a hitting percentage of .333. Craycraft also registered team highs of six digs and four block assists in the match.
 
Isaiah Williams had 14 of the team's 19 assists. Patrick Hilton had a pair of aces for BC.
 
Bluefield's first set was its closest of the day, falling by five points to the Bobcats. It also proved to be the set with BC's highest hitting percentage of the day, at .174.
 
Capping the historical day against the Royals, BC found itself outmatched by the squad who has earned trips to the NAIA National Invitational Tournament three of the past four seasons.
 
The first set was once again the closest defeat for BC, being 18-25.
 
Matt Epperson and Williams led the way in match number two, with six kills apiece. Williams logged a .286 hitting percentage and also added team-bests of nine assists and seven digs. Holland added five kills.
 
Bluefield hits the road on Thursday, Jan. 22 to take on University of Charleston (W. Va.), who is also in its inaugural season. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.