REDDING, Calif. - The men's volleyball squad welcomed UC Merced tonight in its conference home opener. 

The Red Hawks jumped out to the early 4-2 lead on a block by Jacob Shelton and kills by Nathan Richards and Francis Gates. 

Simpson faced a three-point deficit before they reeled off four straight points on a block by Flavio Mercado and three Bobcat errors. 

The Red Hawks pulled within one late in the first set as they benefited from a couple of UC Merced miscues to make it a 20-19 game. 

However, the Bobcats closed out the first set victory on a 5-1 run off a timeout to take the 1-0 match lead. 

UC Merced took the early 5-3 lead before the Red Hawks scored four unanswered points on a kill by Nathan Richards to retake the 7-5 lead. 

The Bobcats held the comfortable 18-14 lead before Simpson exploded for an 8-1 run to take the 22-19 lead as Tyrus Cloat notched three kills. 

A kill by Akira Davies moved Simpson into set point territory as Francis Gates posted a huge solo block to seal the 25-22 set two victory. 

Simpson held the early 8-7 lead in set three on a kill by Gates and a duo block by Richards and Shelton. 

However, the Bobcats doubled up the Red Hawks on a 10-5 run to take the 18-13 lead as the final push came from a kill by Davies and a tandem block by Richards and Gates as the Red Hawks dropped the third set 25-20. 

The fourth set featured a back-and-forth game that saw no more than three points separate each team. 

Two huge kills by Gates and Cloat pulled Simpson within one late in the fourth set as they trailed 22-21.

A kill by Richards moved Simpson back within one as the Bobcats moved into match-point territory. 

Simpson's last hurrah came on a kill by Cloat to make it a 24-23 game before the Bobcats sealed the match victory on a kill. 

Davies posted a team-high 10 kills as Gates followed close behind with nine kills to go along with a spectacular .615 hitting percentage. 

Richards and Shelton combined for nine blocks and 11 kills while Nakasato had another solid game with 36 assists. 

Simpson looks to continue conference play this Thursday as they host Soka at 6 pm. 

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