After both having extra time off, the Merced Bears and the Grant Pacers will shake off the rust and duke it out at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Merced took a loss when they played away from home two weeks ago, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed two weeks ago. They put the hurt on Los Banos with a sharp 3-0 win.
Not only was the match a shutout, it was a big one: Merced took every set by at least 12 points. The final score came out to 25-6, 25-9, 25-13.
Isaak Bankhead
| 04/17/25 vs Los Banos | 15 |
| 04/15/25 @ El Capitan | 14 |
| 04/10/25 @ Buhach Colony | 25 |
Merced got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Isaak Bankhead out in front who had 15 assists. Bankhead has been hot recently, having posted 14 or more assists the last three times he's played.
Merced couldn't miss and finished the game having scored on 42.9% of their attack attempts. The last time their hitting percentage was this high was was before the start of last season.
Meanwhile, Grant waltzed into their contest on Thursday with eight straight wins... but they left with nine. They came within a single set of losing the streak, but they secured a 3-2 W against the Cougars. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Pacers have posted against the Cougars since March 22, 2022.
Grant wouldn't go down easily and took Kennedy into a fifth set where they got it done with a two-point win. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 27-25, 25-20, 21-25, 24-26, 15-13.
Merced better focus on containing Eason Lor and Taejon Jackson as the pair were huge in Grant's win. Lor had five digs and three aces, while Jackson had 13 digs and three assists. What's more, Lor racked up 24 assists, the most he's had since back in March.
Merced is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a massive bump to their 18-12 record this season. As for Grant, their victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-5.
