Sam Calisto was named as an assistant coach for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's volleyball program in March, 2026. She brings experience in collegiate, club and high school volleyball from throughout California and the Mountain West.
Calisto arrives in Santa Barbara after serving on the coaching staff at Ventura College Pirates women's volleyball, where she helped guide the program to a standout 23-2 record during the 2023 season. The Pirates captured their third conference championship in four seasons and earned the top seed in the Southern California Regional Playoffs. She also assisted the Pirates’ beach volleyball program, helping the team claim a Western State Conference title and finish as state runner-up that spring.
Calisto brings six seasons of collegiate coaching experience to the Gauchos, much of it spent in the Santa Barbara area. She previously served as an assistant coach at Westmont Warriors women's volleyball during the 2014-15 season before joining the staff at Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros women's volleyball from 2015-17 under head coaches Ed Gover and Lisa Gera.
During her time with the Vaqueros, Calisto helped lead the indoor program to an undefeated Western State Conference record and a conference title in 2016. She later became head coach of the SBCC beach volleyball program, helping guide the transition from a club team to an official intercollegiate sport in 2018.
In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, Calisto has spent more than a decade coaching elite-level club volleyball with organizations including Montana Volleyball Academy and Rise Volleyball Club. She led multiple teams to Junior National Championship appearances and guided teams to five consecutive Gold Division finishes in the Southern California Volleyball Association.
Calisto also served as head coach at Villanova Preparatory School, where she led the Wildcats to the CIF-SS semifinals in 2018; the program’s deepest postseason run in 18 years. Off the court, Calisto works as the Director of Clubs and Programs for Starlings Volleyball USA, a nonprofit dedicated to providing opportunities for at-risk youth through volleyball.
A former collegiate player, Calisto competed at the Division I level at Cal Poly as a setter and defensive specialist before finishing her career as libero at the University of Montana. During the 2012 season, she recorded 347 digs for the Grizzlies. She graduated from Montana with a degree in Organizational Communication and a certificate in Entertainment Management. She also earned a Master’s Degree in Exercise Science with emphasis in Sports Psychology.
Prior to her collegiate career, Calisto starred at Dunn School, where she earned three team MVP honors and first-team All-Santa Barbara County and All-CIF Southern Section Division IV recognition as a setter and outside hitter.
Calisto’s volleyball roots run deep in Santa Barbara. She grew up playing beach volleyball on East Beach and earned a AAA rating from the California Beach Volleyball Association at age 16. She continues to compete at the Open and AAA levels across California.
Calisto’s ties to UC Santa Barbara also run in the family. Her father, Mike Maas, was an All-American men’s volleyball player for the Gauchos, winning two national championships and later being inducted into the UC Santa Barbara Hall of Fame in 2016.
She lives in Ventura with her husband, Antonio, 7-year-old son, Orion, and their dog, Cosmo. In her spare time, she enjoys playing beach volleyball with her friends at East Beach, golfing, and going to the beach with her family.
"Some of my earliest childhood memories include being rolled around in ball carts at practice in The Thunderdome, attending all of the UCSB home matches, and watching them take down top schools like Stanford, Hawaii, and Long Beach State (at the time) amongst some of the best fans in the country," Calisto said. "UCSB truly feels like home to me, I cannot wait to be a part of the coaching staff here. The passion I witnessed in the program while growing up is what inspired me to coach, and I want to continue to bring that passion to the program in my new role as assistant coach. I think Mike brings incredible experience and championship-caliber leadership to this program, and I believe we are going to do big things with this team!"
