BAKERSFIELD, CA - The Bakersfield College beach volleyball team will begin the 2020 season on Friday when it travels to Santa Barbara to take on Cabrillo College and Fresno City College.
The Renegades are coming off of a solid 2019 season that saw them win 12 matches. Former BC alum, Morgan Townson and Penelope Zepeda placed fourth overall in the 2019 Western State Conference (WSC) 'Pairs' Championships while the team competed in the CCCAA SoCal Team regional championships.
Head Coach Carl Ferreira, who is also the head coach of indoor volleyball, is looking forward to this upcoming beach season, "Every new season, whether indoor or on the beach brings a new opportunity to create a special experience. One of my primary responsibilities is to create a safe culture of learning, growing, and competing. Beach is a completely different game than indoors, so it's like learning a new sport. Beach is an opportunity for our indoor athletes to continue building on the habits and behaviors required for mastery of craft and mastery of self."
Four of the 10 players on the roster are newcomers but all played indoors during the fall season. Coach Ferreira is not worried, "meshing with the returners already happened, we now have to learn how to play the beach game."
This season BC will return 6 players, who played on the beach team Lanie Camarillo, Sarah Lopez, Jessica Merante, Kohra Garcia, Kenzie Villalvazo and Ryan Bayne will be counted on heavily."It will make a significant difference, the role that returners play is invaluable," said coach Ferreira. "They set the foundation for everything that is required to be successful, primarily living by example for how we practice and how we compete."
Just like the 2019 indoor season, fans can expect to see exceptionally skilled and athletic athletes competing with great energy and focus. Ferreira gives credit to the local talent in Kern County, "We have one of the premiere volleyball programs in the state, primarily because of the amazing and talented players we have from our local volleyball community."
Key matches to come out and cheer on your fellow Renegades at the CSUB Beach Volleyball Courts are Friday March 20th vs Ventura and Santa Monica and Saturday April 25th for the start of WSC Pairs Playoffs.
The Renegades will begin the season against Cabrillo College at 12:00 p.m. on Friday and will take on Fresno City College at 2:00 p.m. The matches are being hosted by Santa Barbara City College.