The No. 2 ranked Fresno City College Women’s volleyball team defeated the Reedley Tigers at the FCC gym in a Central Valley conference match and remained undefeated in conference play.
The Rams swept the Tigers with scores of 25-23, 25-6 and 25-22.
The Rams started the first set quickly but the Tigers refused to go quietly.
Reedley was able to begin a comeback in the first set that ultimately fell short.
After the first set though the game was all about the Rams.
McKenzie Buchanan led the team with a strong defensive performance through all three games.
The match began with a small ceremony for sophomore players Courtney Thacker, Kaitlyn Henderson, Toni Murphy, McKenzie Buchanan and Jodie Reitz.
The coaching staff handed out bouquets of flowers to the players, while their parents were invited to join them on the court.
The players’ volleyball accomplishments and short statements written by the players were also announced over the PA system during the ceremony.
“I think everybody played tonight, we were solid all three games,” said head coach Ainger-Schulte.
“It’s a sign of how deep we are and how talented we are from person one through 13. It’s a great team.”
The Rams secured their sixth straight CVC title two days later when they defeated Porterville College with a score of 25-22, 25-16, 25-19.
Toni Murphy had 15 kills in that game while Courtney Thacker contributed with 41 assists.
Thacker is second in the state with an average of 11.31 assists per game while Murphy has 175 kills on the season.
With the win, the Rams continued a six-game winning streak. Their last loss was against Sierra on Sept. 14.
“I’m not as concerned about the winning streak as I am how we are performing right now. We are playing at a pretty high level right now at the end of the year when we need to be playing at our best. I think we are doing that consistently,” said Ainger-Schulte.
This is Ainger-Schulte’s sixth season as head coach of the Rams and with this years dominating run she has also coached her sixth winning season.
She now has an overall record of 135-27 at FCC and a record of 82-2 in conference games.
The Rams will find out their first playoff opponent on Nov.18. The playoffs begin on Nov. 20.
