Ceres High’s girls volleyball program has won three of its last four matches versus crosstown-rival Central Valley dating back to the 2020-21 school year.

Led by Jada Harris, Abigail Prado and Jazmyne Arendt, the host Bulldogs dominated their latest showdown, 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-18), against the Hawks in front of a large crowd on Aug. 30 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

Janessa Godinez led Central Valley with four kills, three blocks, two aces and one dig. Gabriela Ramirez had three kills. Yarseli Lopez had three digs. Bella Carrera, Amerie De La Torre and Victoria Lloyd all had one kill. Alondra Carrillo, Allie Peterman and Jannet Valencia finished with one ace apiece.

“I’m not surprised,” Harris said. “We expected to win in three sets. They did put up a fight.”

“Our practices leading up to the match were really good,” Peterman stated. “We were prepared. We just made silly mistakes—hitting and passing errors. We let the pressure get to us.”

Central Valley made Ceres High work for the victory in a balmy gym.

“It’s not our best performance,” Harris said. “But we did our job. There was a lot of communication. We all carried each other to the win.”

“The girls meshed on the court,” Bulldogs’ head coach Kelly Heese said. “They were strong in all areas. Their communication was top-notch.”

The Bulldogs compiled a 1-1 record versus the Hawks in 2020-21.

Ceres High won the first meeting, 3-0, at home.

The host Hawks exacted revenge with a 3-1 victory.

“It’s really nice to beat our crosstown rival,” Harris said. “Being able to shut them out my senior year is amazing.”

Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s student-cheering sections traded friendly barbs during the latest match.

“It’s motivation,” Peterman said. “It makes you want to play hard and win.”

“I love whenever our crowd comes out and shows us support,” Harris stated.

“It was really nice to see the support that was there for both schools,” Heese added. “I wish we got that support throughout the year.”

Heese previously coached girls volleyball at Central Valley for four years (2012-16).

The Hawks reached unprecedented heights under her guidance.

Central Valley amassed a 30-23 record in Western Athletic Conference action and qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs three times.

“It’s another school to me at this point,” Heese said.