Fresno City College beach volleyball team eyes historic unbeaten title run

Fresno City College’s beach volleyball team has spent the season stacking up numbers that should make it impossible to miss, yet the Rams are still flying under the radar as they chase the school’s first state title. Fresno City is unbeaten, ranked No. 1 in California and riding a 14-0 Coast Conference mark, with a 70-0 record in pairs play that explains why the program has become the state’s most intimidating on the sand.

The climb has happened fast. Fresno City launched beach volleyball in 2019, and in just seven years the program has gone from a new addition on campus to a standard-setter in the Central Valley. The college’s athletics department says the Rams already own the most wins in program history and the most wins in the state this season, a striking rise for a school that fields 21 intercollegiate sports.

What makes the push feel urgent is the memory of how close Fresno City has come before. The Rams finished second in the state last season, and the program has spent the last two years coming up one win short of the final goal. That history has shaped the team’s edge, especially for sophomore Lusa Andrews, a Yosemite High graduate, and the rest of a roster built with local roots and experienced additions. Jayla Iversen of Exeter, Mikayla Weiss of Buchanan, Devyn Castaneda of Redwood, Cambria Waites of Saint Mary’s, Karina Rodriguez of Clovis, Jadyn DeRuiter of Clovis West, Annika Ramirez of Bullard, Agalia Torres and Olivia Gleason of San Joaquin Memorial all give the Rams a deep local pipeline.

Experience has also come from outside Fresno City’s usual recruiting path. Weiss, Waites and Castaneda are among the Fresno Pacific volleyball players who dual-enrolled at Fresno City to compete in beach volleyball, since Fresno Pacific does not offer the sport. Fresno Pacific coach Kelsee Montagna has said she trusts Kieran Roblee’s recruiting and that the two programs share similar standards of excellence, a crossover that has helped give Fresno City more depth and steadiness.

Now the Rams are headed toward NorCal regional competition and then the 2026 3C2A Beach Volleyball State Championships, set for May 7-9 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut. The program already has one Coast Conference championship, won with a perfect 14-0 record, and Malia Edwardson and Ashlan VanGronigen delivered the highest state pairs finish in school history last year when they placed fifth. Another unbeaten run would do more than add hardware. It would give Fresno City College a breakthrough moment, lift the program’s profile across Fresno County and turn a young team’s rise into a title that local fans can claim as their own.