Summit Shasta falls short of first CCS volleyball title

“The seniors were sad, especially the four seniors that have been with me,” Summit Shasta head coach Gil Gilberstadt said. “And we have been in this situation before. They worked hard, all the seniors. … They really wanted it, and they were hungry. It was sad.”

After winning the first two sets, No. 2 Summit Shasta (30-8) took a hit late in Game 3, getting stuck in a tough rotation with senior setter Chloe Young off the floor. By the time she subbed back in during extra-points at 25-25, it was too late as the Black Bears service faulted before Castilleja won the pivotal set on the following point.

Summit tried to hit the reset button going into Game 4, but never recovered from the dramatic third set. Castilleja paced the play the rest of the way, adjusting its serve receive to keep its in-system attacks consistently in rhythm.

“They were trying to play safe,” Gilberstadt said of his team’s effort. “They were hustling and picking it up and they had opportunities … and they had good execution. But from that point it just fizzled out. It’s kind of tough saying it. But it happens.”

It was a banner year for Summit Shasta, a team that earned its program-record 30th win in the CCS semifinals, a four-set win over Santa Catalina.

But even playing four sets must have felt like a marathon for the Black Bears. Of their 30 wins, 23 in straight sets. Only one other time — Sept. 29 in a non-league victory over Lowell-SF — did Summit go to five sets this season.

“Basically, to be honest, that’s our second time doing a fifth set,” Gilberstadt said. “We always go three-and-out.”

In his third season at the helm, Gilberstadt has put Summit on the fast track to success on the small-school Division V circuit. The volleyball program first joined the CCS in 2017 and enjoyed two straight winning seasons before Gilberstadt took over. But, since he has, the Black Bears have set program records for overall wins in each of his three seasons — winning 23 games in 2019; 29 in 2021; and 30 this season.

This season marks the end of an era, though, as the five four-year seniors — Young, Madison Aranda, Zoey Dea, Jadine DelosSantos and Paris Lin — who played varsity as freshmen during his first season at Summit are all set to graduate.

“I’m hoping that we’re able to line up and, again, measurable goals,” Gilberstadt said. “If it doesn’t take this year (2023), then for sure the following year (2024). 2023 and 2024, we’re hoping we have more kids. We’re only at 500 kids (enrolled in the school) … 499 to be honest with you.”

But the season isn’t over for Summit Shasta. For the second straight year, the Black Bears have qualified for the California Interstate Federation State Championship Tournament. Summit earned a tough draw in the power-ranking format — unlike CCS, that ranks its divisions by school size — getting bumped into Division III.

As the No. 13 seed, Summit will travel to No. 4 Menlo-Atherton, a Division I program in CCS. The Bears and the Black Bears have something in common, other than their like mascots, in that M-A also settled for runners-up in the CCS tournament, falling in the Division I finals in five sets to Branham after winning the opening two sets.

“It’s kind of weird but it is what it is,” Gilberstadt said. “But we’ve just got to play it out.”