Central Valley High School's varsity volleyball team suffered a heart-breaking 16-25, 26-24, 18-25, 25-12, 15-12 loss while battling four-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion Los Banos on Oct. 6 in Ceres.
The Hawks won the rematch by sweep, 25-8, 26-24, 25-23, over the Tigers on the road last Thursday.
"This was by far one of our better games of the season," Central Valley head coach Kelly Heese said. "The girls played very well. They did exactly what I wanted them to do."
Central Valley setter Ellysa Widas dished out 27 assists versus Los Banos.
Julia Ramsey collected 15 kills, four digs, three blocks and one ace.
Blanca Espinoza led the way on defense with 14 digs.
Mariana Garibay had seven kills.
"I told the girls to play to the best of their ability and that would get us a win," Heese said.
Central Valley and Los Banos compiled identical records while tying for second place during the WAC regular season.
The two teams played a tiebreaker game Tuesday evening to determine the WAC's No. 2 and 3 seeds for Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.
The final score was unavailable before press time.
GIRLS TENNIS
Ceres High School's varsity girls tennis team closed out the Western Athletic Conference regular season with a 6-3 win over visiting Pacheco on Oct. 22.
"It was nice to finish the season with a win," Bulldogs head coach Bryan Harden said. "This was a tough, competitive match. We were fortunate to come out on top. Couple of breaks the other way and we're on the other end of this."
Ceres High swept all three doubles matches.
Aleena Ahmed and Azia Brewster defeated Pacheco's Michela Dunlap and Esmeralda Ramirez 6-4, 6-2 in No. 1 doubles play.
Sabrina Yang and Shania Evans defeated Salina Salinas and Marilyn Sanchez 6-0, 6-3 in No. 2 doubles play.
Bella Rosas and Vivian Moreno defeated Mylett Flores and Carmen Hernandez 6-3, 6-3 in No. 3 doubles play.
The Bulldogs won three of six singles matches.
Chelsea Heras defeated Kayla Ayala 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 in No. 4 singles play.
Alicia Villegas defeated Frances Jacobs 6-1, 6-3 in No. 5 singles play.
Sarah Cuevas defeated Chelsea Cano 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in No. 6 singles play.
Cuevas played singles for the first time.
"We were short-handed," he said. "But the girls continued to play hard and they got it done. Ironically, it was Sarah, who pulled out the victory. Then Chelsea put her stamp on it, allowing us to pull away."
Ceres High compiled a 6-6 record on its way to a fourth-place finish in the WAC standings.
"The girls will have much to build upon for next year," Harden said. "They struggled to get wins all year, but continued to play hard throughout, and were very competitive all season long. They gained a lot of valuable experience."
