Central Valley’s and Atwater’s varsity girls volleyball teams battled for two-plus hours this past week.
The Hawks failed to defend their home court as they lost 3-1 (27-25, 25-16, 23-15, 25-20) to the Falcons Wednesday evening.
“They were having fun,” assistant coach Kiah Featherstone said. “That makes me happy.”
Added junior standout Kaydee Peterman: “We did really well for the most part. We just need to work on moving our feet and covering.”
Central Valley dropped to 0-9 in the Central California Conference standings.
“The girls are working hard,” Featherstone said.
Peterman totaled 17 digs and two aces versus Atwater.
Anusha Kumar collected 11 digs, four kills and two aces.
Mony Chhoeum had seven kills, seven aces, seven digs and two blocks.
Featherstone filled in for head coach Regina Selfridge, who missed the match to attend a friend’s funeral service.
“It was a little different not having our regular coach,” Peterman said. “It was just another thing we had to work through.”
The Hawks trailed by as much as 13 points in the final game before closing the gap to four.
“We played as a team more,” Peterman said. “I thought it was going to go five games.”
Central Valley was in position to win the first game.
Ahead 24-23, Atwater rallied for a 27-25 victory.
“We didn’t execute in some crucial scenarios,” Featherstone said. “That put us in a hole.”
CROSS COUNTRY
Central Valley varsity cross country head coach Veronica Moreno talked about her program’s strength of schedule following last week’s outing in Patterson.
“They understand we’re in a tougher league,” she said. “The competition is not easy. They have to work harder each week to improve. It’s going to take more than one season to get where we need to be. They’re up for the challenge.”
Central Valley’s boys and girls teams both finished in sixth place during the Central California Conference’s second cluster meet on Oct. 9.
“They tried their best to get competitive times,” Moreno said.
Central Valley’s boys had a team score of 165.
Favio Gonzalez was the Hawks’ top runner.
He finished 33rd overall.
Gonzalez posted a time of 18 minutes, 10 seconds on the 3-mile course.
David Cuevas Sanchez (18:10), Alejandro Gonzalez (18:13), Patric Senesom (18:52) and Nicolas Gil (19:06) placed 34th, 36th, 41st and 43rd, respectively.
Central Valley’s girls totaled 158 points while finishing behind Atwater (30), Merced (36), Buhach Colony (86), Patterson (104) and Golden Valley (128).
Priscilla Garcia (25th, 21:49) was the Hawks’ top runner.
Kelsy Naranjo (35th, 23:55), Abigail Garcia (36th, 24:05), Adriana Huaracha (39th, 25:17) and Aryanna Jimenez (40th, 25:55) also contributed to Central Valley’s point total.
WATER POLO
Ceres High’s varsity girls water polo program dropped to fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference standings last week after losing on the road to Johansen and Beyer.
The top three teams in the WAC advance to the playoffs at the end of the regular season.
“For us to get into playoffs, we have to win the rest of our games,” said head coach Stephen Dias, whose team fell to 6-4 in conference play. “We have to beat Grace Davis to finish third.”
Ceres High sustained a 14-5 loss at second-place Johansen on Thursday.
The Vikings edged the Bulldogs 10-8 earlier this season in Ceres.
“It’s disappointing we didn’t win,” Dias said. “They used their home-pool to their advantage. Our kids tend to play a little better at home.”
Emily Wolff and Elise Cannella led Ceres High in scoring with two goals apiece.
Allison McAdams added one goal.
Unbeaten Beyer routed Ceres High 16-2 on Oct. 8.
Wolff and Karen Bernal both tallied one goal.
“I don’t think we could have done anything different,” Dias said. “Beyer is in a league of its own. They have strong swimmers and shooters.”
Ceres High’s varsity boys water polo team had no margin for error last week.
The Bulldogs needed to upset the heavily-favored Johansen Vikings and Beyer Patriots to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Ceres High never posed a threat as it lost both league matches.
“We knew what we were up against,” first-year head coach Stephen Dias said. “We faced two tough teams.”
The Bulldogs dropped to 4-6 in the Western Athletic Conference standings following Thursday’s 14-0 road loss to the second-place Vikings.
“I’m not upset,” Dias said. “This year is a transition year. They’ve developed great chemistry with each other and game knowledge. We’ll be better next season.”
Undefeated Beyer dominated from start to finish in defeating Ceres High 21-5 on Oct. 8 in Modesto.
“They’re big, strong and fast,” Dias said.
Nicholas Campbell led the Bulldogs in scoring with three goals.
Brian Ayala and Cruz Fee both contributed one goal.
Dias believes Ceres High will have an opportunity to close the competitive gap next season.
“They have to do whatever it takes this summer to get better,” Dias said. “They need to hit the weight room and get stronger.”
GIRLS TENNIS
Central Valley’s youth-laden varsity girls tennis team didn’t lose or gain ground in the Central California Conference standings last week.
The Hawks (2-11) remained in sixth place after being beaten by Merced and Golden Valley in league play.
Central Valley lost 6-3 to Merced on Thursday in Ceres.
Central Valley’s Edith Amaya and Jessica Saini defeated Merced’s Emily Featherston and Sere Burelson 6-4, 6-2 in No. 1 doubles play.
Christina Hermenegildo defeated Laura Ness 6-3, 7-5 in No. 3 singles play.
Sabina Dhillon defeated Jessie Mendoza 6-3, 6-1 in No. 6 singles play.
Ceres High lost 7-2 to Golden Valley on Oct. 8 in Merced.
