Sports
PHS boys volleyball team preparing for 4A tournament
The Philomath High School boys volleyball team ended its regular season Saturday with tournament victories over Molalla and Junction City and will now prepare for a Class 4A “culminating event” this weekend at Hillsboro.
The Warriors (16-6) had victories of 25-23, 34-32 over Junction City and 25-10, 21-25, 15-10 over Molalla in their appearance at a tournament hosted by Estacada. Philomath went 1-2 in pool play with losses to the state’s No. 1 team, Class 6A Central Catholic, as well as the host school. The pool play win came over Cottage Grove.
Coach Helen Bennett said the team had fun playing against the unbeaten and top-ranked Rams.
“It’s obvious they have been playing for a few years, as they really don’t have any weaknesses and multiple players can pound some balls,” Bennett said. “Estacada was also tough — they are a 4A team, so there’s a chance we might see them again in the tournament.”
Philomath and Newport finished the season tied for first place in Special District 2 with 10-2 records. The Warriors were seeded No. 4 for the 4A state tournament, which is not recognized by the Oregon School Activities Association since boys volleyball is not yet an official sport with the “emerging” designation. But even if unofficial, the tournament will determine the top team this spring in 4A.
Eight teams qualified for the tournament and the Warriors will face Cascade in the quarterfinals. In the other matches, No. 8-seed Marshfield will face No. 1 Crook County, No. 6 Phoenix squares off against No. 3 Estacada and No. 7 Molalla will take on No. 2 Newport.
“The seeding is a bit deceiving because all teams are ranked in one poll regardless of your classification,” Bennett said.
In those rankings, Crook County is No. 21, Newport No. 22, Estacada No. 23 and Philomath No. 27. Cascade comes in ranked No. 47.
“Cascade’s league was mainly 5A and 6A teams and also one of the biggest leagues with eight teams, so their record of 4-10 and 6-11 overall probably wouldn’t be the same if they were placed with teams in their class,” Bennett said. “So we need to come prepared for that first round — and mainly my main goal is team consistency.”
Philomath won more than 70% of its matches this season but has gone through ups and downs in certain parts of the game.
“When we are playing well and executing our offense, we are competitive and fun to watch,” Bennett said. “But we can also make a lot of errors, which of course is understandable being our first year, but it’s those unforced errors that give teams the edge. So our goal is having the competition earn their points and we minimize giving them points.”
Philomath will play three matches in the 4A tournament, which will take place at the Olympus Sports Center in Hillsboro. The quarterfinal match vs. Cascade is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday.
Philomath will play Marshfield or Crook County at 4 p.m. Saturday in either a loser’s bracket game or in the semifinals. The championship match is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday. Trophy matches will be played Sunday at 10 a.m. (seventh/eighth), noon (fourth/sixth) and 4 p.m. (third/fifth).