Heading into volleyball season this fall, second-year coach Whitney Thomas settled on a strategic rotation change that paid major dividends, flipping the lineup positions of outside hitters Nora Stanley and Shaylee May from the previous year.
By starting May in the back row to capitalize on her defensive prowess and Stanley up front to maximize her offensive impact, the Warriors transformed their entire offensive approach. The move proved successful as both players earned first-team recognition on the all-Oregon West Conference team.
Based on the voting, Thomas said Stanley just missed the Player of the Year Award, which went to Cascade senior setter Irene Rocha-Ibarra. Stanley, a junior, was named to the first team at the 4A tournament.
“Nora just stands out on the court as an offensive presence, that’s for sure,” Thomas said. “She’s definitely one of the biggest leaders on our court and makes all the difference. You can feel it when she’s not out there, which is pretty rare.”
Stanley’s court smarts factor into the package she’s able to bring to the sport.
“Her volleyball IQ is incredibly high and she’s worked really hard in the last year to improve on that to make it moreso,” Thomas said. “Her presence is pretty unmatched, to be honest.”
May, a senior, is another PHS player that caught the attention of the conference’s coaches with all-around abilities that included exceptional statistics in several areas.
“Shaylee has worked hard on her defensive skills,” Thomas said. “She played club volleyball this last winter and really fell in love with defense. Stat wise on paper, Shaylee’s defense for our team as far as serve receive goes and digs percentage and serving — all the way around she just improved greatly and the league sees that as well. She’s definitely an offensive presence at the net as well.”
Six players from conference champion Cascade made the all-conference team followed by Philomath and Stayton with five each. In addition to Rocha-Ibarra’s award as the top player, other individual honors in the league went to Newport senior Madison Smallwood for Libero of the Year and Newport’s Megan Smallwood and Stayton’s Ruth Daniels for Coach of the Year.
PHS senior Avery Smith earned second-team honors after stepping in this season as the starting setter. Thomas, who played setter herself, had high expectations for Smith but believed strongly in her ability to meet them. Smith rose to the challenge and fulfilled both her coach’s confidence and her own goals for the season.
“Avery sets pretty high goals and absolutely accomplished all of those this year,” Thomas said. “You’re never going to not get 100% in full hustle out of Avery and her leadership — she was our on-court captain as well. She really understands volleyball and knows how to lead.”
Seniors Taylor Hudson at middle blocker and Isabelle Muir at libero were honorable mention selections.
“Taylor is a workhorse — she’s a beast at the net,” Thomas said, mentioning an unheard of 10 solo blocks that she had in the team’s final match at state. “Middle blocker is not an easy position in any sense of the word and Taylor really focused on the details, wanting to be a defensive presence at the net and to work really hard on offense as well.”
Muir worked hard this season on the serve receive to complement her defensive skills, Thomas said.
“Isabelle, I think, really wanted that to be her thing this year so she focused really hard on serve receive in practice and was such a solid presence for us,” Thomas said. “I’m really proud of Isabelle and I’m really happy that she got the recognition that she deserved this year.”
All-Oregon West Conference
Player of the Year — Irene Rocha-Ibarra, Cascade
Libero of the Year — Madison Smallwood, Newport
Co-Coaches of the Year — Megan Smallwood, Newport; Ruth Daniels, Stayton
FIRST TEAM
Outside Hitter — Nora Stanley, Jr., Philomath; Kathryn Samek, Jr., Stayton; Emma Kirschenmann, Sr., Cascade; Shaylee May, Sr., Philomath
Middle Blocker — Hailey Abundiz, Sr., Cascade; Zuri Andersen, Jr., Stayton
Setter — Irene Rocha-Ibarra, Sr., Cascade
Libero — Madison Smallwood, Sr., Newport
SECOND TEAM
Outside Hitter — Kaitlyn Kennedy, Jr., Sweet Home; Kourtney Samek, Jr., Stayton
Middle Blocker — Kade Lane, Fr., Cascade
Setter — Avery Smith, Sr., Philomath; Briahna Kirchner, Jr., Newport
Defensive Specialist — Amyah Miranda, Sr., Cascade
Libero — Karissa Jewell, Jr., Sweet Home
HONORABLE MENTION
Middle Blocker — Taylor Hudson, Sr., Philomath
Opposite Hitter — Aubrey Newberry, Sr., Sweet Home
Setter — Trinity Victor, Sr., Sweet Home; Mila Morley, So., Stayton; Abi Whiedon, So., Stayton
Libero — Isabelle Muir, Sr., Philomath; Macie Thies, Jr., Cascade