State NorCal DIII volleyball semifinals: Carmel falls to Mountain View
MOUNTAIN VIEW — Before the season heated up in February, the belief was that Carmel’s boys volleyball team could extend its volleyball season into mid-May, that 10 seniors would leave their stamp at the school.
“I definitely felt this was a section and state team,” Carmel coach Hannah Castillon said. “That’s for sure. I knew going into this season that this was their year. This group has developed so much over four years.”
The Padres didn’t hide from the expectations, running off with the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Gabilan Division title, reaching the Central Coast Section Division II finals, and extending their season into the Northern California Division III tournament.
The bid, however, to add one more match and play for one more title didn’t materialize as the Padres fell Thursday to No. 3 seed and host Mountain View 25-17, 25-23, 29-27 in the Northern California Division III semifinals.
Carmel, which knocked off No. 2 seed Urban of San Francisco on Tuesday, was facing a Mountain View squad that played for the CCS Division I title last Saturday.
“I felt we matched up,” Castillon said. “They had a more active middle. That was a game-changer for them. We fought on defense. It was hard to get a solid pass-set hit on a rally.”
A member of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division, Mountain View (24-18) will visit CCS Division II champion and top seed Santa Cruz on Saturday for the Northern California Division III title.
The Padres (23-7) last two losses were administered by Santa Cruz in the CCS Division II finals and Mountain View, which has swept its first two opponents in the Northern California playoffs.
“These kids worked so hard to get to this point,” said Castillon, a former Cal State Monterey Bay volleyball standout. “There’s a lot of fight in them. Nothing has been handed to them. It takes a lot. It’s not just one person.”
Losing 10 seniors on a roster of 15 means Carmel will look different next year. Yet, this group, anchored by Gabilan Division Player of the Year Zach Speakman, set the bar, reestablishing a standard.
“It was a culture shift when I came on board,” Castillon said. “But the foundation was already in place. Most of these seniors have been with me the past four years. We have some solid kids coming up, that have a passion for the sport.”
Castillon had hoped to ride the momentum generated from Carmel going on the road Tuesday and stunning San Francisco Section champion Urban in four sets.
Instead, a sluggish beginning had the Padres — who had logged over 600 miles of traveling in their last three matches — down a set in a steamy gym.
“What we lacked sometimes was energy,” Castillon said. “We started pretty slow. The gym was hot. It took a while for us to get jump-started.”
While the Padres played better in the second set behind Speakman and Nic Tonini at the net and Drew Galy in the back row, falling by two points put them on their heels, as their season was on the line.
“There were some momentum shifts when calls were turned on us,” Castillon said. “That stole some of our fight. But these kids fought to the last point.”
That was evident in the final set when Carmel rallied from a 16-10 deficit in the third set to take a brief 18-17 lead. What ensued was each team trading points before the Spartans ran off two consecutive points to end the marathon set.
Speakman finished with 11 kills, eight digs and four blocks for Carmel, while Nic Tonini tallied seven kills, seven digs and two service aces. Tristan Henderson and Jacob Tonini each had five kills, with Galy adding eight digs and an ace.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 9:03 PM.