Two days can make all the difference.
After a disappointing sweep at the hands of Stayton on Tuesday, the Philomath High volleyball team rebounded in impressive fashion Thursday night by defeating Cascade 28-26, 20-25, 25-22, 25-16 in an Oregon West Conference showdown.
Gallery: PHS volleyball vs. Cascade (Oct. 16, 2025)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s volleyball victory at home over Cascade on Thursday.
The victory over the No. 2-ranked Cougars (13-5 overall, 7-1 Oregon West) proved the Warriors (12-5, 6-2) can compete with any 4A school in the state.
PHS senior Isabelle Muir put it this way: “I think it shows when we come to play, you better watch out.”
The contrast between Tuesday’s loss and Thursday’s triumph couldn’t have been more stark. Against Stayton, Philomath entered without the proper competitive edge, perhaps overconfident after beating the Eagles earlier in the season.
“I think we went into the game not having to worry too much about Stayton because in the past we beat them,” Muir said. “We went into the game not super competitive and they just showed up to win.”
But Thursday was different. Philomath knew exactly what it wanted — and executed.
Coach Whitney Thomas said the Warriors spent Wednesday’s practice session focusing on the mental side of volleyball, emphasizing the importance of staying level-headed through the inevitable swings of momentum.
“Our biggest thing today was the mental game and trying to find a way to stay away from the peaks and the valleys and just maintain a steady flow,” Thomas said. “If you lose a point, who cares — get one back. And don’t worry about long runs of points and just work on every single point.”
That mental adjustment paid dividends. Philomath appeared to have Cascade rattled at times, forcing the Cougars into numerous unforced errors.
“Volleyball is such a game of momentum,” Thomas said. “If you can figure out a way to keep the momentum or to at least maintain some type of steady flow on your side of the net, you’re going to win against a team that has a hard time with the ebbs and flows of the game.”
Thomas also noted that expectations worked in Philomath’s favor.
“All of the pressure was on Cascade,” she said. “After Tuesday, I don’t think they had many expectations for us — as far as watching us lose to Stayton.”
The Warriors backed up their mental preparation with solid execution. Junior Nora Stanley led the attack with 16 kills, while seniors Shaylee May and Taylor Hudson added 13 and 12 kills, respectively. The trio combined for 41 kills on the night.
Senior setter Avery Smith orchestrated the offense with 33 assists while also contributing five kills. May added seven assists to her stat line.
“We made them make mistakes,” Muir said. “Volleyball is a game of mistakes and we just made them have more than us.”
Muir seems to enjoy playing volleyball — she often has a smile on her face. That’s especially true in matches against high-quality opponents like Cascade.
“When it’s a high-intensity game and everybody is hyping us up, it’s so much more fun,” she said. “And it really shows, I think, between all of us.”
The Warriors are scheduled to participate in a tournament Saturday at Marshfield High in Coos Bay before finishing the regular season next week with conference matches at North Marion and at home against Newport.
Philomath 3, Cascade 1
Thursday, Oct. 16, at Philomath HS
| Cascade (13-5, 7-1) | 26 | 25 | 22 | 16 |
| Philomath (12-5, 6-2) | 28 | 20 | 25 | 25 |
