The Philomath High School boys volleyball team came up short Thursday night in a five-set thriller at Crosshill Christian. The Warriors were strong early and won the first two sets but the Eagles rallied for the victory, 19-25, 17-25, 25-16, 25-18, 15-10.
“We played the best volleyball of the year those two first sets,” PHS coach Helen Bennett said. “Really showed our potential once we become more consistent.”
Bennett said Crosshill Christian has a very good team.
“Last year was their first year and they returned everybody,” she said. “We outplayed them initially, which I think really surprised them. However, they got better as the match went on, minimizing errors and started hitting well.”
The Warriors struggled in the third and fourth sets, Bennett said, particularly with serving and hitting errors.
“Nico (Mayo Carrasco), our libero, had a fantastic match, really anchored our backcourt play, but he went down with an injury on the last point of the fourth set and couldn’t play in the fifth,” Bennett said. “Chris (Eaton) was solid with his setting, giving our hitters great opportunities to swing away.”
Despite the loss, Bennett said there was plenty to be happy about with the performance.
“I’m super proud of where we are just three games into the season,” she said. “The boys know they can be good, they saw it, they tasted it, and I know they’ll work hard going forward to become more and more consistent.”
Philomath drops to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in Special District 3. Crosshill Christian and Cascade are tied atop the league standings with 2-0 records.
The Warriors are scheduled to play Monday at Western Christian. The team’s next home match will be Wednesday against Cascade. Both matches have a 6 p.m. start time.
Crosshill Christian 3, Philomath 2
Thursday, April 2, at Crosshill Christian School, Turner
Team 1 2 3 4 5 Philomath (2-1, 1-1) 25 25 16 18 10 Crosshill Christian (2-0, 2-0) 19 17 25 25 15