Philomath High’s boys volleyball team took control early and never let up with a sweep over host Newport in straight sets on Tuesday evening. The Warriors won 25-9, 25-10, 25-22 to improve to 4-5 overall and 3-4 in Special District 3 play.
“We took control early in the match behind strong serving,” Philomath coach Helen Bennett said.
Bennett credited her two primary servers with establishing the tone. She said she positions her lineup — depending on whether the Warriors win or lose the coin toss — to have either senior Tito Martinez or sophomore Nico Mayo Carrasco serve first.
“They are our most consistent servers,” Bennett said. “Both can have a wicked, flat float serve that can get many teams ‘out of system,’ which means they struggle to get a good pass to the setter to run offensive attacks.”
Martinez delivered in the opener with a 7-0 run from the service line that helped Philomath pull away. Mayo Carrasco followed with a similar stretch in the second set as the Warriors built a commanding lead.
“Overall, we played really well as a team and the boys had great energy and confidence,” Bennett said. “We’ve been working hard on being smarter hitters and that really showed tonight. I was also able to get a mix of players in, and getting everyone true game experience is really valuable.”
Philomath returns home Thursday to host Crosshill Christian at 6 p.m.
Philomath 3, Newport 0
Tuesday, April 21, at Sam Case Elementary, Newport
Team 1 2 3 Philomath (4-5, 3-4) 25 25 25 Newport (1-6, 1-6) 9 10 22