It’s been a historic season for the Castaic girls’ volleyball team.
From making the program’s first-ever state playoff appearance, to first-ever state playoff win in the past week, the Coyotes once again made history on Saturday after Castaic won in come-from-behind fashion in five sets, 15-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16, 16-14, over the Capistrano Valley Christian Eagles and advanced to the Division 4 SoCal regional finals.
“I’m pretty speechless,” Castaic coach Taylor Schubert said afterward. “They played incredibly well. They’ve earned it.”
For the Coyotes (22-14), the trip to the SoCal regional finals didn’t come without any road bumps.
In the first set, the Castaic High School gym was rocking with both teams trading points back-and-forth.
But in the middle of the first set, the Eagles rallied for an 11-4 run and secured the win convincingly.
With the opening-set win, momentum seemed with the Eagles, but the Coyotes remained composed.
In the second set, the Coyotes came out unfazed from the first-set loss.
After Castaic and Capistrano Valley Christian were neck-and-neck throughout the set, the Coyotes scrapped by the Eagles with a 25-22 victory.
With the second-set win, the Coyotes tied the overall match at 1-1 and looked to have control and momentum.
That momentum was short-lived.
In the third set, the Eagles rallied on offense and capitalized on Castaic’s mistakes.
The Eagles won and looked to be in the driver’s seat.
But the Coyotes kept fighting back with defense being key to their comeback.
“If that’s the one thing we improved over the season, it’s defense,” Schubert said. “We got to step up. And I think they did it. From my middle blocker to my libero, everyone was just playing some incredible defense at the end.”
Defense kept Castaic’s season alive and left opportunities for the Coyotes to take a fourth-set win.
With the team firing on all cylinders from offense to defense, the Coyotes took that energy to the fifth set.
After a final stand by the Eagles, the Coyotes secured the fifth-set victory, 16-14, and punched their ticket into the Division 4 SoCal regional finals for the first time ever.
Schubert, who’s been the head coach of the program since the school opened in 2019, has seen the highs and the lows of high school girls’ volleyball but said years of hard work paid off in Saturday’s win.
“We started from literally the bottom, and it’s amazing. I hope we can continue building,” Schubert said. “But I want to finish it off with this team.”
With the win, the Coyotes will play for the regional championship on Tuesday and hit the road for the first time in the state playoffs.
The Coyotes will take on the El Camino Real Royals of Woodland Hills, who are the No. 1 seeded team in the SoCal regional.
The Royals are coming off a four-set win over Chatsworth and will be a tough opponent for the Coyotes on Tuesday.
Schubert is already looking ahead on how her team can get ready for Tuesday’s championship with a regional title on the line.
“We’re going to take the day to celebrate, but we’re going to come back Monday and practice,” Schubert said.
The Coyotes play again on Tuesday for the Division 4 SoCal regional championship against the Royals at El Camino Real High School with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m.
