Ceres High’s boys volleyball team has experienced a major turnaround from a year ago.

A year removed from compiling a 2-17 overall record and placing dead last in the Western Athletic Conference standings with a 1-14 mark, the Bulldogs put their finishing touches on a memorable regular season this past week.

Ceres High improved to 12-5 overall and locked up a third-place finish in the WAC with a 3-0 win over Grace Davis on Senior Night at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium on April 25.

The Bulldogs edged out the Spartans for the conference’s final Sac-Joaquin Section playoff spot.

“They did exactly what they set out to do,” said Ceres High second-year Coach Kelly Heese . “They saw what hard work and dedication can do. They believed in themselves.”

Bulldog seniors Isaiah De La Torre, David Flores, Ethan Oiterong, Izaiah Hernandez and Faiva Tuakalau won their final home match.

“If you’re a senior, you don’t have an opportunity to do that again. I’m extremely happy for them.”

De La Torre led Ceres High with 28 assists, three kills, two blocks and two digs.

Flores had nine digs and one ace.

Tuakalau had five digs, three kills, one block and one ace.

Oiterong had five digs and two kills.

Hernandez had four digs.

“They played the way they’re supposed to play."

Bulldog teammates Andre Pina, Manny Ortega, Gio Sio and Bo Moring also contributed.

Pina had 11 kills.

Ortega had seven kills, four blocks, two aces and one dig.

Sio had two kills, one block and one dig.

Moring had two blocks.

The Bulldogs posted a 2-0 record versus the Spartans this spring.

A lot was at stake during the second meeting.

“If we lost to Grace Davis, we would have played a tiebreaker to determine who took the third (playoff) seed." 

Heese and Ceres High had high hopes heading into the 2023 season.

“I knew they had the potential last year,” she said. “Everything fell into place this year. The boys worked hard. They believed in themselves and did what I knew they were capable of. There was a lot of improvement. They had fun.”