Summit Shasta finally gets to the CCS Division V volleyball mountaintop

It was a fitting championship point that lifted the small Daly City charter school to Division V rare air, as it featured some serious ups from Vanessa Xu, a senior middle who belied her 5-3 stature as she scorched a kill soaring far above the net.

“Hella far!” Summit Shasta senior Bianca Flores said of Xu’s game-winning vertical leap. “That was so good!”

For Xu and Summit Shasta, this year’s mission was to take home a CCS title.

“It was brought up like almost every practice,” Xu said. “It was: ‘This is our goal, we’re going to win it this year.’”

The Black Bears previously reached the Division V finals in three of the past four years, and came particularly close to winning the title in 2022, racing out to a 2 sets to 1 lead against Castilleja before falling in extra-points in Game 4 en route to a 25-16, 11-25, 25-17, 27-29, 15-11 loss.

Xu joined the team the following year in 2023, and endured a grueling loss last year against Crystal. After Summit Shasta took the first set off the Gryphons, the next three sets all went to extra-points, with the Black Bears on the short end of all three in a 21-25, 26-24, 27-25, 26-24 loss.

“It was definitely really taxing,” Xu said, “but we used it to grow stronger, and that’s how we won this season.”

Seventh-year head coach Gil Gilberstadt was having flashbacks in Saturday’s fourth set, as Palma (13-13) began chipping away at Shasta’s 20-11. After junior outside hitter Daniela Ruiz scored off the left side to make it 21-13, the Chieftains went on a 4-0 mini-run, punctuated with the best momentum play in volleyball on a block from freshman middle Zaniyah Washington.

Gilberstadt used a timeout and appealed to his core of senior starters, Flores, Xu, opposite Keira Wu, setter Ysabelle Galvez and libero Maile Moffat.

“I told these girls, just lock it in,” Gilberstadt said. “The seniors, they’ve been here before, they know how it is ... and I just let them handle it. At this point, they’ve been here.”

Each had a shining moment down the stretch, but not before the junior Ruiz forced a side-out with a kill off the left side. Galvez followed with a service ace to make is 23-17, and Xu exacted a kill through the middle to force championship point.

“We just got the energy back together and we were confident in ourselves and our abilities,” Xu said.

Xu finished with six kills and two blocks, while Ruiz led the way with a match-high 16 kills, and Flores added 15 kills.

“They are so good,” Xu said of Shasta’s two top attackers. “They work so hard, and they really bring the team together with their energy and their skills. And every time they get a kill, we’re just super happy.”

The Black Bears’ defense was equally as impressive.

At the start of Game 3, with the match tied 1 set apiece, a spectacle of defense established Shasta’s momentum. The Black Bears had their hands full with Washington and Palma sophomore outside hitter Reese Amaral, who shared the team-high with 10 kills apiece. But the defense absorbed both their best bolts to win an early point in the third set, as Wu roofed a left-side attack that Palma dug up to extend the rally. The next volley saw Palma attack with a tip through the middle, but Ruiz crashed toward the net and bumped it up while managing not to cross the center line, putting Shasta on the attack for Xu to redirect a kill back through the middle.

The point gave the Black Bears an early 2-0 lead in the set, but they rode the swing on momentum to not only lead wire-to-wire in Game 3, they never trailed against throughout the remainder of the match.

“It’s been one of our greatest strengths as a team,” Xu said of the defense. “And we work really hard on it, and we’re proud of our skills.”

The CCS title caps a banner season for Summit Shasta, as the program extended its winning streak in Private School Athletic League matches to 53 straight, a streak dating back to 2019. The Black Bears also won their eighth straight PSAL championship, running a perfect streak of earning either outright a co-league titles in each of their eight seasons since joining the PSAL in 2017.

Saturday, however, marked CCS crown No. 1.

“I’m just so proud,” Flores said. “We worked so hard. Everyone on this team is amazing, and our hard work really paid off. I’m just so proud.”

With the win, Summit Shasta advances to the CIF Northern California Division IV regional playoffs. The Black Bears drew the No. 7 seed, and will host Tuesday’s opener against. No. 10 University Prep-Redding at 6 p.m.