Sneak previews: JC soccer and volleyball

SOCCER: CCCAA NORTH REGIONAL

Vitals: Fresno City will host men’s and women’s soccer games today in the CCCAA North Regional. The second-seeded men will play No. 10 Cañada at 2 p.m. The second-seeded women will meet No. 7 Foothill at 11 a.m. Also, in the men’s, No. 9 West Hills-Lemoore (11-6-2) will visit No. 1 Taft (15-5-1) in an all-Central Valley Conference matchup.

The skinny: The Rams’ 12-4-5 men, ranked fifth nationally and champions of the Central Valley Conference for the eighth time in 11 years under coach Eric Solberg, won 1-0 at home against Cañada (15-3-3) early in the season. Fresno’s defense, one of the state’s best, is led by center back Cody Ellison, a sophomore from Clovis, and goalkeeper Fabian Rangel, a sophomore from Sunnyside. Trae Garton, a sophomore from Clovis West, leads the Rams in scoring.

As opposed to the men, who received a first-round bye, Fresno’s women defeated No. 15 Diablo Valley 2-1 to advance to the quarterfinal against Foothill (17-3-2). The Rams, who went 6-0 to win the CVC and are ranked 13th nationally, have the league’s Most Valuable Player in Maghan Wright, a sophomore central defender from Buchanan.

VOLLEYBALL: CCCAA NORTH REGIONAL

Vitals: Fresno City and Porterville will play today in the first round of the 16-team CCCAA North Regional. The No. 4 Rams (22-4) will host No. 13 DeAnza (14-11) at 7 p.m. No. 10 Porterville (17-5) will visit No. 7 Sierra (19-9) at 7:30 p.m. in Rocklin.

The skinny: Fresno City, which went 14-0 in the CVC, boasts the league’s MVP in middle blocker Taylor Lucero, a sophomore from Central. The Rams also have all-leaguers in Tasha Greer, a sophomore setter from Kerman, and middle blocker Arianna Milla, a sophomore from Central.

CVC runner-up Porterville has all-leaguers in setter Laura Lopez, a sophomore from Tulare Western, and middle blocker Olga Velasquez, a sophomore from Arvin. Top-seeded Sacramento City (28-0) is the state’s only unbeaten team.

The Fresno Bee