After capturing the Oregon West Conference title for the first time in seven years and earning a berth in the Class 4A playoffs, the Philomath High School volleyball team enters 2025 with heightened expectations and a veteran core ready to take the next step.
Whitney Rasmussen, now in her second season as head coach, has shifted her focus from building trust to perfecting the details with a squad that returns nearly its entire starting lineup from last year’s breakthrough campaign.
“Really, our entire starting lineup minus one are returning players, so they all have that experience now,” Rasmussen said. “They have playoff experience, they have really good competitive experience under their belt. I would say collectively with the team, everybody’s pretty excited to get the season going.”
The Warriors’ playoff run ended in the first round with a three-set loss to Crook County, which went on to finish third in the Class 4A tournament. That early exit has motivated the team’s approach to preseason preparation.
“We really are focusing this year on working hard in this preseason to get some points to really build up so that during the league, there isn’t as much pressure on us all the way down to the last game,” Rasmussen said.
Two main areas have dominated preseason drills — defense and blocking. The emphasis stems from lessons learned during crucial moments last season.
“Some of the things we got in problem areas last year, as far as in big games, were point runs,” Rasmussen explained. “So we’ve really focused on trying to figure out ways to stop point runs — whether that’s serve receive or focusing on defense to win long rallies … to keep point runs under three points, under two points.”
The detailed defensive work represents a natural evolution for a program moving beyond any type of rebuilding phase.
“It’s early in the season to be able to do it but we’re really focusing on details,” Rasmussen said. “I’m working on blocking and defense right now and pushing for those defensive strategies.”
Three of the team’s four players that earned all-conference recognition last fall returns for the Warriors — junior Nora Stanley and seniors Shaylee May and Taylor Hudson. Among the other key players back in uniform are senior Isabelle Muir, senior Avery Smith and junior Megan Ward. The coach also mentioned Alyssa Stanley, a freshman who could have an immediate impact on varsity.
Nora Stanley, May and Smith were chosen by teammates to serve as team captains.
“That’s our setter (Smith) and our two outside hitters (Stanley and May) that collectively have the most experience on varsity,” Rasmussen said, adding that she also would’ve chosen the same three players as captains. “Nora and Shaylee have both played since their freshman season — they just have a ton of experience.”
Stanley is one of three first-team all-league players from a year ago that are back with their teams in 2025.
“Nora has already this season really stepped it up,” Rasmussen said. “You can tell she wants to be a leader on the court and wants to help her teammates learn to make sure everybody’s on the same page at all times.
“Avery and Shaylee are really doing a good job of assisting her with that and really filling any gaps where they’re needed,” Rasmussen added. “Like I said, a great group of young women and those three specifically are taking the bull by the horns and really providing that leadership that some of the younger players in our program need.”
Rounding out the varsity roster are senior Lucie Oster, juniors Lora Theurer and Cheyenne Adams, and sophomores Rylee Martin, Libby Kramer and Taylor Martin.
In all, Philomath has 34 students participating in volleyball.
Rasmussen anticipates another challenging Oregon West Conference season, viewing the competition as beneficial for playoff preparation.
“I think Cascade and Stayton will be contenders and Newport really came on strong last year, too,” she said. “It’s nice to see — there have been some years where our league hasn’t been the toughest and that makes it hard when you get into playoff time and you haven’t had a lot of competition.”
The team got a taste of competition against other schools last week in a jamboree at Sweet Home. The Warriors won three of four matchups — the lone loss coming by two points to last year’s state runner-up, Marist Catholic.
The two teams will meet during the regular season on Sept. 11 in the PHS gym.
“It was a really good preview in terms of what we need to do and strategy to build on as far as practices to get ready for that match,” Rasmussen said.
The regular season opens Thursday with a 6:30 p.m. match at Crescent Valley, a 5A school that finished as the state runner-up last year.
Rasmussen has all-new assistants this fall. Taylor Roe takes over as junior varsity head coach with Mackenzie Hiner assisting, while Alex Tipsword steps in as JV2 coach.
For Rasmussen, the team’s chemistry remains its greatest asset.
“They’re a great group of kids that have really grown up together, played together,” she said. “They just mesh really well. This is probably the most excited I’ve been with a team, as far as potential and really just their personalities. They’re a really fun group.”
The combination of experience, talent and team chemistry has created high expectations for a program looking to build on last year’s success.
“They’re very passionate about volleyball, every single one of them, and keeping them aligned, keeping them together, and allowing them to find success collectively as a group is probably our biggest goal,” Rasmussen said. “They want to win and I’m here to support it. I’m here to help them win as much as possible.”
