The Philomath High boys volleyball team showed resilience in two of three sets Wednesday night but couldn’t overcome Cascade’s athleticism and big hitting in a 25-23, 25-13, 25-23 loss to the visiting Cougars.
The loss dropped the Warriors to 2-3 overall and 1-3 in league play. Cascade improved to 4-1 and sits atop the Special District 2 standings at 4-0.
Gallery: PHS boys volleyball vs. Cascade (April 8, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s boys volleyball match at home vs. Cascade on Wednesday.
PHS coach Helen Bennett acknowledged the challenge Cascade presents with its tempo and athleticism.
“It’s tough because we don’t have anyone that we can practice that against — that’s a very fast pace of play, very athletic play,” Bennett said. “I’m not surprised that they dominated on those plays.”
Despite the defeat, Bennett saw encouraging signs, particularly in the third set when she inserted new players into the front row without disrupting the team’s competitiveness.
“We didn’t miss a beat and hung tight all the way through,” she said. “So I’m excited to play them next time and hopefully we’ll have a full squad again.”
Philomath has been playing without sophomore Nico Mayo Carrasco since an April 2 loss at Crosshill Christian. Bennett said she hopes the injured player will be back on the floor next week.
The opening set was tightly contested throughout with the two teams trading points deep into the set. Cascade opened small leads on three occasions, but Philomath answered each time. Senior setter Chris Eaton tied the score at 21-21 with a short serve that caught Cascade off guard and the Warriors took the lead on a Cascade net violation.
The Cougars regrouped and went ahead 23-22 before Philomath forced another tie at 23-23. Cascade then took the final two points with Cougar junior Zeben McCloud delivering the set-clinching kill.
Philomath got off to a 2-0 start in the second set on an Eaton kill and a Cascade ball into the net, but the Cougars took control quickly. Cascade scored six straight points with sophomore Volodymyr Ionin serving, then added another six-point run with sophomore Liam Clausen at the service line to pull away for good in a 25-13 set.
The third set was again competitive and featured eight lead changes. Philomath turned a 15-12 deficit into a 17-15 lead, sparked by a stretch in which Eaton tied the set at 15 with a well-placed ball inside the right sideline. After a Cascade timeout, the Warriors scored two more points on a Cougars hit into the net and an illegal hit call.
Bennett credited the serving of Eaton and senior Mayson Wallace for keeping Philomath in the set, including several well-executed short serves that exploited space against Cascade’s deep-positioned passers.
“If you noticed, their passers were way, way deep and there was a lot of open court,” Bennett said. “Chris and Wally can hit the short serve — there was an opportunity there and I called on them to do that and they were successful.”
Neither team led by more than two points down the stretch. Philomath took a 20-18 lead on a quick hitter by Eaton, but Cascade responded with four straight to go up 22-20. The Warriors tied it at 22 on an Eaton serve that a Cascade player couldn’t handle, then took a 23-22 lead on a Wallace kill. But the Cougars closed out the match with the final three points.
Eaton was a standout performer for Philomath, leading the team in kills while also making a number of exceptional plays as the team’s setter. Bennett noted that having a setter lead the team in kills is a sign both of his offensive instincts and of an opportunity for the hitters to step up.
“He just has the vision to make those plays — we’ve got to get our hitters to have more kills than the setter,” she said. “That kind of shows you the critical role that the setter plays with not just getting sets up for his hitters but also to recognize the times where he can be offensive and make some jumps like them.”
Bennett also highlighted the team’s improved serving focus, particularly late in the match.
“I really liked our serving in the third set,” she said. “I felt that we were more challenging … I think before we would just serve and not really focus on that result and so they just kind of floated along.”
Philomath’s next match is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Willamette Valley Christian, a 1A school out of Brooks.
Cascade 3, Philomath 0
Wednesday, April 8, at Philomath HS
Team 1 2 3 Cascade (4-1, 4-0) 25 25 25 Philomath (2-3, 1-3) 23 13 23
