Oregon West Conference leader Cascade held off visiting Philomath in a high school volleyball match Thursday evening, 25-19, 25-15 and 25-18.
“We just couldn’t quite get into our groove the whole match,” Warriors coach Autumn Hilberg said. “We committed a lot of uncharacteristic errors.”
Hilberg said her team kept the score close early in each of the three sets but Cascade would respond with small runs to close them out.
“We didn’t play terrible,” Hilberg said. “It could have been easy to feel defeated when we lost the first set but we stayed in and played hard during the second.”
Philomath and Cascade were tied 12-12 at one point in the second set before the Cougars finished with a 13-3 run.
“In the third set we were again right there with them,” Hilberg said. “They are a tough-serving team and even with our changes, we couldn’t go on any runs of our own.”
On the stat sheet, Hilberg said senior Clara Stanley was a bright spot with a 2.1 serve receive rating. She was tops in the hitting department with six kills. Junior setter Ashleigh Brown had 14 of the team’s 16 assists. Junior Kynlee Albin had three ace serves. Senior Madison Juhl had two blocks. Junior Madison Provance had a team-high 14 digs.
“I’m excited to see this team put in work to succeed in the rest of league (play),” Hilberg said. “They know how to work hard in practice and I trust they will come fighting back next week.”
‘The Battle of the Bow’ match up next
Philomath 8-6 overall, 4-2 Oregon West) will host Newport at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Hilberg said the Warriors and Cubs have joined together to establish a new tradition to promote breast cancer awareness through what they’re calling “The Battle for the Bow.” The first such matchup occurs Tuesday.
“The ‘bow’ is a trophy that will sit in the trophy case each year of the winning team of each October matchup,” Hilberg said. “Before the match, we will honor a local community member who has battled cancer.”
Hilberg said that as warmups end, players will have the chance to honor a loved one who has fought or is battling breast cancer.
“We are given the privilege of being able to use the sport we love and play as a platform to represent something bigger than ourselves,” Hilberg said. “While there are many causes out there, this is one that hits close to home for a lot of our student-athletes and their families.”
