Going up against the preseason No. 1 Marist Catholic Thursday night in the home gymnasium, Philomath High’s volleyball team held its own through the first two sets. But the visiting Spartans regrouped to take the third and fourth sets in a 25-18, 20-25, 25-16, 25-14 win.
“We played a strong Marist team tonight who served well and beat us offensively,” PHS coach Whitney Thomas said.
Gallery: PHS volleyball vs. Marist Catholic
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s volleyball match at home vs. Marist Catholic on Thursday.
Last year’s state runner-up in the 4A playoffs, Marist came into this season as the favorite to take the title, according to the OSAAtoday preseason coaches poll. The Spartans improved to 5-1 with the victory.
Philomath dropped to 1-2 — the other loss also coming to a state runner-up from last season in 5A Crescent Valley. The Warriors will try to get back in the win column Tuesday at Junction City.
“There is always room for growth and finding new areas to improve,” Thomas said, “so we’re going to focus on those little things to prepare for Junction City next Tuesday.”
Marist Catholic had a strong finish to hold off Philomath in the opening set. The Warriors made things interesting by pulling to within 18-16 but the Spartans responded with a 7-2 run to finish out the set.
In the second set, Marist shot out to a 3-0 lead but the Warriors persevered the early run and turned a 5-2 deficit into a 7-5 lead, the last point in that stretch coming on a serve that fell inside the backline for senior Avery Smith.
The two teams battled back and forth but Philomath never relinquished the lead. The Warriors led by as many as five points at 19-14 before the Spartans attempted a late comeback. After calling a timeout, Marist scored three quick points, which prompted PHS to call a timeout.
Marist followed with two more points to tie the set, 19-19, before the Warriors regained their footing. The Spartans helped the cause by hitting two into the net and another out as Philomath went up 22-19.
After giving up a point, Philomath closed out the set with Marist serving long on the 24th point and then hitting long on the 25th.
Said Thomas, “We played solid defense in the second set.”
Marist then took the next two sets to head back to Eugene with a victory.
On the stat sheet, Warriors junior Nora Stanley had a team-high 13 kills. Freshman Alyssa Stanley finished with six kills. Smith had 18 assists and served three aces.
Philomath’s Sept. 16 match at Junction City is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.
Marist Catholic 3, Philomath 1
Thursday, Sept. 11, at Philomath HS
| Marist Catholic (5-1) | 25 | 20 | 25 | 25 |
| Philomath (1-2) | 18 | 25 | 16 | 14 |
