ALISO VIEJO, Calif. – The Soka University Lions faced off against Cal Pac opponents, UC Merced, Simpson University, and Pacific Union College to round out conference play.

THURSDAY VS. UC MERCED (4-25, 9-25, 10-25)
UC Merced was led by Jared Guglielmana, Gannon Connors, and Cody Evans, who each tallied five kills. Setter Brayden Van Kuren directed the Bobcats' attack with 14 assists, while Evans and Kam Owens added two blocks apiece.

For Soka, Aiden Chen led the way with three kills, while Kenichi Price and Takayuki Toyama each contributed one. Price also delivered the Lions' only service ace. On the defensive side, Toyama recorded a team-high five digs, followed by Kazuya Yaguchi with three. Daniel Yoshimura distributed five assists to facilitate the offense.
 
FRIDAY VS. SIMPSON (6-25, 7-25, 12-25)
Simpson's attack was led by Akira Davies, Nathan Richards, and Carlos Messer, who each tallied seven kills. Setter Micah Nakasato orchestrated the offense with 21 assists, while Richards also contributed a match-high eight digs.

For the Lions, Kenichi Price led with three kills, followed by Takayuki Toyama with two. Carlos Hoffmann added a service ace, while Diego Caceres anchored the net with two blocks. On defense, Aiden Chen had a strong showing with a team-high eight digs, while Kazuya Yaguchi and Daniel Yoshimura each chipped in three. Yoshimura also led the Lions with three assists.

Though the Red Hawks controlled the pace, Soka showed resilience, posting their highest point total in the final set.
 
SATURDAY VS PACIFIC UNION (18-25, 12-25, 11-25)
Pacific Union was led by Nate Tejada, who finished with 11 kills. Defensively, Joseph Cardona anchored the back row with 10 digs.

For Soka, Takayuki Toyama led the attack with three kills, followed by Aiden Chen and Kenichi Price with two each. The Lions were effective from the service line, tallying four total aces, with Diego Caceres leading the way with two. Caceres also had a strong presence at the net, recording a match-high three blocks. Setter Daniel Yoshimura guided the offense with eight assists, while Price led the defensive effort with six digs.

The Lions started strong in the opening set, posting their highest point total of the match, and continued to compete throughout. They will look to build on their efforts as they prepare for their next challenge.
 
Soka will return to the court in their upcoming matchup against Park University Gilbert on Thursday, April 3rd with the first serve set for 6 p.m. The Lions will be honoring their seniors prior to the contest.