The Ceres High varsity girls volleyball team's effort hasn't wavered despite being eliminated from postseason contention.

The fifth-place Bulldogs battled the second-place Patterson Tigers and third-place Livingston Wolves on the road last week.

"I have a great group of athletes who have worked so hard to improve and they have," head coach Darlene Tobler said.

Ceres High dropped to 4-9 in the Western Athletic Conference standings after losing 3-2 (21-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13) at Livingston on Oct. 18.

"Our record is not what we planned on for this season, but it is a growing year," Tobler said. "We did not have many returning players so it is a new team. We will finish out the season strong and start making plans for next year."

Bulldog Alyssa Stiles collected 27 digs, 10 kills, eight blocks and two aces against the Wolves (7-6).

Diana Zarco had 25 digs, four kills and one ace.

Kyara Rodriguez had 17 assists, 14 digs and two aces.

Julissa Arreola had 17 digs and one ace.

Yanelli Rodriguez had 13 digs and two kills.

Madison Nash had 11 digs, 10 kills and six blocks.

Mya Robinson had 11 digs, three kills and two aces.

Karina Pulido had eight digs.

Isabel Macias had two digs and one assist.

Ceres High suffered a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-15) loss while competing against host Patterson on Oct. 16.

Rodriguez led the Bulldogs with 15 assists, five digs and one ace.

Stiles had 11 digs, seven blocks and five kills.

Zarco had seven digs, two kills and one assist.

Nash had six kills and two blocks.

Macias had four digs and one kill.

Robinson had two assists, two digs and one kill.

Pulido had two digs and one kill.

The Tigers improved to 9-4 in the WAC.

"My team means the world to me and I am proud of each of them," Tobler said. "They play with heart and have been dedicated to me and our program."

Ceres High will close out the WAC season today.

The Bulldogs will play host to the crosstown-rival Hawks at 6 p.m..

Ceres High lost 3-2 and 3-1 to Central Valley earlier this year.

SPLIT FOR HAWKS
Central Valley's varsity girls volleyball team won one of two matches last week to remain in the hunt for its fourth consecutive playoff berth.

The fourth-place Hawks improved to 6-7 in the WAC with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-10, 25-22) home victory over winless Pacheco on Oct. 18.

Central Valley nearly knocked off undefeated Los Banos on Oct. 16 in Ceres.

The Tigers were forced to rally for a 25-21, 23-25 26-28, 25-13, 15-11 victory against the Hawks.

Central Valley has to win out and get some help in order to secure a spot in the postseason.

YOUTH FOOTBALL
The Ceres Seahawks varsity youth football team secured the top seed and locked up home-field advantage for the Cen-Cal AFC playoffs with a 28-0 shutout victory over the Turlock Bulldogs Saturday night at Ceres High.

"I'm not surprised," Ceres head coach Joe Borba said. "A good group of the kids went to the last two Super Bowls at the junior-varsity level and went undefeated last year."

The Seahawks improved to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the Cen-Cal AFC standings.

Ceres has outscored its nine opponents, 355-64.

The Seahawks have tallied a combined eight touchdowns on special teams and defense.

"We're pretty good in all facets of the game," Borba said. "That's pretty rare to have."

Ceres' Anthony Lopez, Isaih Epps and Julian Lopez all had standout games on offense versus Turlock.

Anthony rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

Isaih gained 76 yards and scored one TD on nine carries.

Julian carried the ball seven times for 46 yards and one touchdown.

"They're fast," Borba said. "They run hard. They're hard to tackle."

Julian Lopez, Austin Munguia, Ruben Valenzuela and Anthony Lopez led the way on defense.

Julian tallied nine tackles and one interception.

Austin, Ruben and Anthony collected seven, six and five tackles, respectively.

The Seahawks limited the Bulldogs to just five first downs. "Defensively, the kids played a superb game," Borba said. "They were flying to the ball. They were very physical."

Turlock never posed a threat as Ceres built a 14-0 lead in the opening half.

Anthony and Isaih scored on runs of 3 and 45 yards, respectively.

Julian scampered 11 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Anthony had a 1-yard rushing TD in the fourth quarter.

"We chewed up a lot of yards and clock," Borba said. "We didn't attempt a single pass. That was our game plan."

The Seahawks will close out the regular season on the road this Saturday. Ceres will face the Central Valley 49ers in non-league action at the Riverbank Sports Complex.

The top-seeded Seahawks will play the fourth-seeded Buhach Thunder in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 4 at Central Valley High School. The winner will face either the No. 2 Oakdale Stampede or No. 3 Turlock Bulldogs in the AFC title game.

Ceres defeated 2016 Super Bowl champion Oakdale 24-14 during Week 2.