The Fresno City College volleyball team opened up home play in a clean 3-0 sweep dominating the Merced College Blue Devils on Friday Sept. 20.

The Rams continued their strong run, coming out of the gate with lots of effort and lots of energy.

The Rams were almost perfect, applying pressure on both offense and defense, something that Merced had no answer for.

“I think we came out really strong. We all gelled together and everything was super in system and that’s great to have so early in the season,” said sophomore pin hitter Marina Gonzalez. 

Head coach Kieran Roblee says the team came in composed and focused which was the edge that set up the victory. 

“Couldn’t have asked for a better start,” said Roblee. “We reached the goals we set for the match and stayed on course.”

The Rams put their depth on display, tiring out Merced after the first ten minutes of the match. It would be that way all match with FCC numbers just being too much to handle.

“We are really fortunate to have a very deep and skilled team. It pays off when it needs to. It’s a rarity to be able to say that,” said Roblee. “We have the numbers to put players in different places or give players some different looks.”

The Rams dominated the match, winning all three sets by more than 15 points. 

The Rams were led by the pin hitter trio of sophomores Kimiah Johnson, Gonzalez, and freshman Taylor Dilley, with eight, seven and six kills respectively.  The three lead the way in every attacking statistic. 

On the attacking game, the Rams hit their peak in the second set with 23 total attacks along with 15 kills against the Blue Devils. 

The defensive strategy went just as smoothly. The Rams would go on to completely shut down the Blue Devils holding them to under 10 points in every set. 

The Rams would also accumulate 39 digs, led by freshman defensive specialist Ali Santoyo, who led the game in digs with 16.

The attacking game wasn’t the only thing turning heads. With 36 total serves, the serving game was exquisite. Leading the team in serves was star freshman Julia Pagani. Pagani would finish the game with 21 serves, compiling three aces.

With another win under the Rams’ belt Roblee says that things are just getting started for the team. “If we can play the ball up and stay in our system good things will happen for us,” she said.

The Rams went 1-1 in a crossover match on Sept. 21, defeating San Joaquin Delta and narrowly losing to Feather River in 5 sets. 

The Rams return back home to take on Reedley College on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m.