Pleasant Hill’s girls volleyball team used strong defense and efficient hitting to defeat Philomath High in three sets Tuesday night, 25-12, 25-12, 25-19.
Warriors coach Whitney Thomas said the result reflected ongoing growing pains for a roster still adjusting to varsity-level volleyball rather than anything alarming about her team’s play.
Gallery: PHS girls volleyball vs. Pleasant Hill (Sept. 15, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s home girls volleyball match vs. Pleasant Hill on Tuesday.
“Pleasant Hill has a good little team — they played great defense and they hit the ball well,” Thomas said. “There was nothing shocking about that tonight in terms of having a tough match, but I think it still is just working out some of the kinks.”
Thomas said the vast majority of her players have only competed at the JV level and are still learning to play alongside their new teammates.
“We’re just so young still, and there’s so much to learn moving from JV to varsity volleyball,” Thomas said. “Most of them haven’t played next to the person that they’re playing next to right now much yet.”
Pleasant Hill (6-1) controlled the first two sets from the opening whistle. The Billies built early leads of 5-0, 8-1 and 13-2 in the first set before closing it out 25-12. The second set was even more lopsided out of the gate — Pleasant Hill jumped ahead 14-0 before Philomath got on the board.
The third set proved far more competitive. Philomath opened the set with a point off an Alyssa Stanley hit and traded the lead before pulling ahead 7-6 on a kill from Nora Stanley. The Warriors later led 8-6 following a Pleasant Hill unforced error, but the Billies answered with four consecutive points to seize control and never gave up the lead again to close out the match.
Nora Stanley, senior, returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing time with a sore shoulder. She finished with 11 kills. Sophomore Alyssa Stanley added eight kills and two blocks, senior Cheyenne Adams recorded 18 assists and junior Luci Alley contributed two blocks.
“We’re still working on getting in place on defense,” Thomas said. “Still working on communication, learning how to play next to each other.”
Despite the slow start to the season, Thomas said team morale remains strong.
“They really like supporting one another and are doing a great job keeping spirits up,” Thomas said. “They definitely have expectations to win, but I think they all see it as a process right now and trying to work through the preseason things.”
Philomath (1-5) now has a gap in its schedule with its next two matches both coming on a Saturday trip to Astoria. Thomas said she hopes the break gives her team time to iron out its early-season issues.
“So we have a lot of off time,” Thomas said. “Hopefully, we’ll have some chances to work out the quirks that are still happening.”
Philomath will face host Astoria at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by Warrenton at 2 p.m.
Pleasant Hill 3, Philomath 0
Tuesday, Sept. 15, at Philomath HS
Teams (Record) 1 2 3 Pleasant Hill (6-1) 25 25 25 Philomath (1-5) 12 12 19
OREGON WEST CONFERENCE
STANDINGS—Central 5-0, Stayton 5-2, Cascade 4-3, Taft 4-3, Newport 3-3, Philomath 1-5.
SCORES—Sept. 15: Stayton 3, Cottage Grove 0; Cascade 3, Astoria 1; Pleasant Hill 3, Philomath 0.
