For a Philomath High School volleyball roster stocked with newcomers still learning where they belong on the court, early nonconference matches are as much about discovery as they are about wins and losses.
In a straight-set home loss to Tillamook Thursday evening, the Warriors exhibited a lot of promise buried under a lot of preseason growing pains as the visiting Cheesemakers secured a 25-21, 25-10, 25-23 victory. It was the first meeting between the two programs since 2017.
Gallery: PHS girls volleyball vs. Tillamook (Sept. 3, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s volleyball match at home vs. Tillamook on Thursday.
Tillamook (2-1) jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the opening set, but the Warriors clawed back and took an 18-17 advantage. The Cheesemakers tied the set on a Philomath serve into the net and then regained momentum by scoring the next three points — all three coming on Philomath attack errors.
The second set was more one-sided. Tillamook scored the first five points and Philomath struggled to climb out of the early deficit.
Philomath (0-2) stayed within reach for most of the third set despite Tillamook holding a lead through much of it. The Warriors scored three straight points to save match point late, pulling within 24-23, before Tillamook closed out the match on a Philomath hitting error.
Coach Whitney Thomas said serving was the difference in Philomath’s more competitive stretches.
“When we play well, we serve well,” Thomas said. “We missed a lot of serves tonight. So when we got long stretches of points, it was because we weren’t missing serves. We were playing well on serve receive and also making good decisions like transitioning as far as who to set the ball to.”
Thomas said the team, which is young and still working through its rotations, has struggled with communication early in the season.
“We just seem to be having a hard time right now figuring out our lineup and where our rotations are and where everybody’s playing next to each other — a lot of miscommunication stuff,” Thomas said. “It’s preseason and we’re young. We’re learning as we go.”
Sisters Nora Stanley, a senior, and Alyssa Stanley, a sophomore, were steady contributors.
“Right now, they’re the constants on the court and everybody’s really looking at them,” Thomas said. “They’re feeling a lot of pressure right now.”
Thomas said she wants to see other players take on more responsibility in upcoming matches.
“We’re going to work really hard in these next couple of weeks to take some pressure off of Nora and Alyssa because I think they’re both feeling it right now and they shouldn’t have to carry the weight of everybody,” Thomas said. “But, you know, they’re good kids, they do it to themselves and they’re competitive. But it’s time for everybody else to step up a little bit.”
Looking ahead, Thomas said rebuilding the program’s team identity will be a focus in practice.
“The beloved Warrior volleyball mentality — we’re just not there yet,” Thomas said. “We’ve worked really hard to cultivate that in the last few years. So, we just need to get back to that. But really, honestly, it’s just a lot of new kids playing varsity that have no experience doing it.”
Tillamook opened the season with a four-set loss at The Dalles before beating Oregon West Conference member Stayton in five sets on Tuesday. The Cheesemakers finished 9-9 last season and missed the playoffs.
In the two programs’ last meeting in 2017, Tillamook won in five sets and went on to place fifth at the 4A state tournament. Philomath finished that season 19-4 but was upset by Scappoose in the first round of the playoffs.
Philomath returns to action Sept. 10 at home against Santiam Christian.
Tillamook 3, Philomath 0
Thursday, Sept. 3 at Philomath HS
Teams (Record) 1 2 3 Tillamook (2-1) 25 25 25 Philomath (0-2) 21 10 23
OREGON WEST CONFERENCE
STANDINGS—Central 4-0, Cascade 3-0, Newport 2-0, Taft 3-2, Stayton 1-1, Philomath 0-2.
SCORES—Sept. 3: Newport 3, Siuslaw 0; Tillamook 3, Philomath 0; Stayton 3, Astoria 2; Taft 3, Seaside 0; Central 3, Corvallis 1.
