Philomath High’s volleyball team got a second shot at Coquille on Saturday and made the most of it.
After losing to the Red Devils during morning pool play at the Eagle Classic, the Warriors turned the tables in the afternoon with a 25-21, 25-23 victory in the first round of the Silver Bracket at the tournament hosted by Santiam Christian.
Coquille, a 3A school, leads the Far West League at 8-0 and carries a 12-3 record overall.
“We played three really strong opponents in pool play, setting us up for the Silver Bracket in the afternoon,” PHS coach Whitney Thomas said. “We lost two sets in pool play to Coquille, but ended up playing them again in the first round of bracket play and won 2-0.”
Philomath then fell to Banks 25-15, 25-17 in its next bracket match. Only bracket matches count toward a team’s record, leaving the Warriors at 3-11 overall.
Senior Nora Stanley led Philomath with 43 kills over the course of the tournament, and her sister, sophomore Alyssa Stanley, added 21. Senior Cheyenne Adams finished with 44 assists.
Thomas also pointed to the contributions of junior Luci Alley, junior Addison Rice and senior Lora Theurer.
“Luci had a great day defensively at the net with several block touches to contribute to our defensive improvement,” Thomas said. “Both Addison and Lora also set today, helping with our offensive strategy.”
The coach liked what she saw as the day progressed.
“The improvement in the afternoon was outstanding and great to see how well everyone came together and played as a team, everyone contributing to the win,” Thomas said.
Philomath returns to Oregon West Conference play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Central in Independence.
PHS at Eagle Classic
Saturday, Oct. 3, at Santiam Christian HS, Adair Village
Philomath 2, Coquille 0
Teams 1 2 Philomath (3-10) 25 25 Coquille (12-3) 21 23
Banks 2, Philomath 0
Teams 1 2 Philomath (3-11) 15 17 Banks (9-7) 25 25