Butte College Roadrunners Open Beach Volleyball Season at Folsom Lake Doubleheader
FOLSOM, Calif. – The Butte College women’s beach volleyball team officially kicked off their 2026 campaign on Thursday, January 29, competing in a challenging season-opening doubleheader hosted by Folsom Lake College at Livermore Park. The Roadrunners faced off against the host Folsom Lake Falcons and the Santa Rosa Junior College Bear Cubs in a day that tested the grit of Butte’s developing roster.
Match 1: Butte vs. Folsom Lake College
In the morning session, the Roadrunners battled the Falcons in a match that saw several sets go down to the wire. While Folsom Lake secured a 4-1 team victory, Butte’s No. 5 pair provided a major highlight. The duo of Abby Blumert and McKenna Love showed remarkable resilience, overcoming a first-set loss to defeat FLC’s Hyer/Myhre in a three-set thriller (16-21, 22-20, 15-13).
Other notable efforts included the No. 4 pairing of Naomi Keys and Simson, who forced their match to a deciding third set before falling 15-4.
Match 2: Butte vs. Santa Rosa Junior College
The afternoon slate featured a matchup against a disciplined Santa Rosa squad. Despite a high-energy effort from the Roadrunners, the Bear Cubs took the match 5-0. Butte’s top pairings, including Fuentes/Hart and Babcock/Zaring.
It was a Deja Vue day for Head Coach Ed Jackson. “It was surreal returning to Livermore Park since Livermore Park was the home venue for the Hornets when I started coaching the beach team at Sacramento State. Little did I know that my first coaching stint at Sac State would also be the first venue I would compete at as the Head Coach at Butte.” Jackson continued, “Overall, I was pleased with the progress our team made today. We now have a better understanding of the expectations and how a typical match day flow occurs. We saw some pairs compete well today and are fine tuning our line-up for conference play in March.”
Final Scores – January 29, 2026:
- Match 1: Folsom Lake College 4, Butte College 1
- Match 2: Santa Rosa JC 5, Butte College 0