The Summit High School girls volleyball team officially concluded its season with a loss to Eagle Valley High School on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

The Tigers climbed out to an early lead on their home court, winning the first set 28-26. Summit attempted to keep the momentum rolling in the second set, but the Eagle Valley Devils were dominant. Defeating Summit by double digits, Eagle Valley won the second set 25-15.

Summit entered the third frame trying to reclaim the lead in the best-of-three match, but the team was once again thwarted by Eagle Valley. The Devils defeated the Tigers 25-13 in the third frame to climb to a 2-1 lead.

With the match on the line, Summit put in a strong effort in the fourth set. The Tigers exchanged points with the visiting team, but it was the Devils who won the match-deciding set. With a 25-18 win, Eagle Valley defeated Summit 3-1.

The loss dropped Summit’s final record to 4-19 overall on the season and 1-11 in 4A Western Slope league play. The Tigers’ four wins came against Platte Canyon, Thomas Jefferson, Pomona and Rifle.

After making the Class 4A regional volleyball tournament over the last two seasons, Summit missed out on playing in the postseason tourney this fall season. At the conclusion of the season, Summit ranked 54 out of 74 teams in 4A.

Despite falling of short of the team’s goals, third year head coach Cynthia Durloo was still proud of what the team was able to accomplish. With a varsity roster mainly filled with underclassmen, Durloo was proud of how her athletes progressed and grew into more confident players over the course of the season.

“The team grew so much,” Durloo said. “We were a young varsity team and spent the majority of the season developing our mental game, defensive and offensive systems and our overall volleyball IQ. This season, our morale was high and our growth large. We are looking forward to starting our season off strong in 2025.”

Summit will graduate just one senior in outside and right-side hitter Sophie Willms. Willms was a mainstay for the Tigers this season, combining for 89 kills and 75 digs in 56 sets played. Willms led the team in kills per set with an average of 1.6 and also had the most blocks on the season with 26. Additionally, Willms had the most aces on the team with a total of 39.

Next season, Summit is expected to lean upon sophomore Baye Manske, junior Poly Gledhill, sophomore Torie Durloo and sophomore Kyla Salthouse.

Five 4A Western Slope league teams advanced to the 2024 4A regional tournament, including Battle Mountain, Eagle Valley, Glenwood Springs, Steamboat Springs and Delta. The champion of each of the 12 regions will advance to the state volleyball tournament from Nov. 14-16 at the Denver Coliseum.