Going up against one of the better teams in perhaps the toughest boys volleyball district in 4A/3A/2A/1A, Philomath worked through a rough start and settled into a competitive battle in its final regular-season home appearance.
Willamette Valley Christian, ranked No. 9 by the Oregon School Activities Association and fighting for a runner-up finish in Special District 3, had to fight off the Warriors for a 25-14, 19-25, 25-18, 25-23 victory.
Gallery: PHS boys volleyball vs. Willamette Valley Christian (May 5, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s boys volleyball match at home vs. Willamette Valley Christian on Tuesday.
“It was really fun to have some great rallies and that was the first time we had taken a set off them,” PHS coach Helen Bennett said. “We came close to pushing them to five so there’s a good chance we run into them in the (district) playoffs.”
Before the match, Philomath recognized four seniors that will graduate out of the program — Chris Eaton, Tito Martinez, Mayson Wallace and Jaxon Allen — along with foreign-exchange student Nico Mayo Carrasco.
Losing the first set by 11 points, the Warriors needed to make some serious improvement on their side of the court.
“The score reflected more of our errors, our mistakes, versus anything that the other team really did,” Bennett said about the opening set. “Unforced errors really hurt us and so the goal was to clean up our side of the court, clean up our mistakes.”
Philomath (4-10 overall, 3-8 Special District 3) did just that in the second set to even the match.
“It was more of we’re going to flush that set down the toilet and start fresh and have a little pride in our play,” Bennett said. “And they did, they responded, and you know, when you clean up your own errors, it’s surprising how well you can play.”
Willamette Valley Christian (11-3, 7-3) senior Grady Orton was a major presence at the net with his hitting.
“They have a big gun in No. 11 — he probably gets 10 to 15 kills a match,” Bennett said. “He’s very smart, he can pound the ball, he can tip, he can find holes in our defense. So when you have a player like that on your team with a very fast arm swing, our blockers were late a lot. So they have a ton of success because of him.”
After dropping the third set, the Warriors had their backs to the wall down 2-1 in the match.
“That’s the thing about boys volleyball, you’re going to get a lot of ups and downs,” Bennett said. “You’re just kind of riding those waves and trying to have more ups than downs because you want the kids to swing.”
Philomath nearly forced a fifth set with a back-and-forth, competitive set in the fourth. The two teams were tied 23-23 before the Brooks squad closed it out behind Orton’s hitting.
The Special District 3 playoffs are scheduled to begin next week after the dust settles on the regular season. The top five teams qualify and the Warriors will make it in as the fifth team with a likely matchup against fourth-place Western Christian in an elimination match.
The winner would then go up against the winner of third-place Willamette Valley Christian and Crosshill Christian. Cascade has clinched the league title and as the top seed will go directly to the championship match.
Results out of the league tournament will determine the special district’s state-qualifying teams with OSAA rankings factoring into seeding. Fourteen teams will qualify for state with the opening round and the quarterfinals scheduled for May 20 and May 23 at sites of higher seeds. The semifinals and trophy games will take place May 29-30 at West Salem High School.
Philomath will step out of district play Wednesday with a trip to Creswell for a doubleheader. The Warriors will face the host team at 4:30 p.m. and then go up against Cottage Grove at 6:30 p.m. The regular season then ends at 6 p.m. Thursday with a match at Toledo.
Willamette Valley Christian 3, Philomath 1
Tuesday, May 5, at Philomath HS
Team 1 2 3 4 Willamette Valley Christian (11-3, 7-3) 25 19 25 25 Philomath (4-10, 3-8) 14 25 18 23
