Fresno City College off to a 13-1 start in volleyball

A veteran group has the Fresno City College volleyball team off to a quick start.

The Rams are 13-1 after victories Saturday against Feather River and defending state champion Cabrillo at the Cabrillo Classic.

Fresno City enters Friday’s 6 p.m. match against visiting Porterville as the fifth-ranked team in the state and winners of 66 straight in the Central Valley Conference.

Kieran Roblee is in her first season as coach, replacing Tracy Ainger-Schulte after she took over the Fresno Pacific program. Jenna Goldsberry has a team-leading 134 kills.

“Us returners mainly have a goal of going further than last year,” said Rams setter Sydney Rigby, who has a team-high 304 assists, “making it to the state tournament in the postseason. Another goal is also just to have team chemistry; having a fun season where us girls can just enjoy playing the sport we love trying to get to the next level as athletes and people.”

Rams defensive specialist Carly Kosinski likes how her team is responding in matches. Fresno City twice bounced back in a five-set victory against Cabrillo, winning 25-16, 22-25, 25-14, 19-25, 16-14.

“We have really stepped up our mental aspect of the game,” she said. “We have so much skill on our team and we have done a really good job of being confident and learning how to best use the tools we have. We haven’t payed much attention to our wins, we just take care of business and move on to focus on the next opponent.”

Et cetera – Fresno City’s wrestling team finished fourth at the West Hills Invitational. The Rams totaled 113.5 points behind individual titles for Julian Gaytan (125) and Dylan Martinez (149). West Hills was eighth with 58 points.

Gaytan was named Tech-Fall California Community College Wrestler of the Week. He’s a returning All-American.

State top-ranked Cerritos won with 163.5 points, with Sacramento City (132) second, Mt. San Antonio (118) third and the Rams fourth to match the latest state rankings.

▪ The Rams’ water polo team, 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big 8 Conference, will compete Saturday at the San Mateo Tournament.

▪ Sequoias won the women’s team title at last weekend’s Lou Vasquez Invitational. Alyssa Block won individually in 18:41.7 over the 5,000-meter course. Fresno City finished fifth. The Giants men placed fourth, while the Rams did not field a full team.

This story was originally published September 29, 2016 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Fresno City College off to a 13-1 start in volleyball."