Though the West Linn Volleyball Tournament was the highlight for Oregon high school volleyball last weekend, the local Seaside tournament held on Saturday, Oct. 10 was no slouch.
Astoria, Warrenton and Seaside were among the 15 teams who took part in the North Coast bump, set and spike contest. They were joined by top 4A teams Stayton, Marist Catholic, Taft and Estacada, 6A Century and a couple of teams from Warrenton’s league. The all-day tournament ended with 4A title favorite Marist Catholic sweeping away Astoria 25-18, 25-18 to win the day. Taft defeated Warrenton in a three-set match to win the consolation bracket.
Astoria: Continuing to build
The process has been slow for Astoria volleyball, but the girls look to be rounding into shape.
After starting off the year 0-4, the Fishermen had lost just once since Sept. 23.
Astoria started the day in a bracket with 6A Century and 4A Taft. The Fishermen won four sets and lost two in pool play to qualify for the Golden Bracket. They were joined in that bracket by Marist Catholic, Stayton, Seaside, Scappoose, Corbett, Estacada and Century.
Behind stellar play from standout junior Kyah Gohr, the Fishermen swept aside Estacada in two sets. Astoria served really good all day at Seaside and it was highlighted by multiple aces from seniors Hadley Painter and Lyla Carlson. Despite giving up about five inches of size to the Estacada blockers sophomore Emma Ness had a number of thunderous kills. Middle blocker Keturah Jackson had kills and blocks throughout the day as well.
Though head coach Eric Gohr stressed that Astoria’s defense still needs to improve, the Fishermen are making strides in that department. After struggling to return serves against Century earlier in the day, the Fishermen did a great job setting up Gohr in her sweet spot, which gave Estacada’s two blockers no chance.
The Fishermen then got revenge on Stayton.
Astoria lost to Stayton in five sets to begin the year. The Fishermen had multiple match points against the Eagles, but were not able to close things out. Saturday was a different story as Astoria laid down the hammer.
The Fishermen took set one 25-15 and then won set two, 25-21. Though it wasn’t a true five-set match, this might have been Astoria’s most impressive victory of the season as Stayton entered Saturday with just two losses and ranked No. 3 in 4A.
Astoria would see its tournament run and win streak end at the hands of Marist Catholic. Blessed with the luxury of having almost every girl playing club volleyball, the Spartans used their built-in advantage to win the Seaside tournament once more. The team also won the Seaside tournament in 2025. The Spartans only blemish was a set-one loss to Stayton in pool play.
Despite losing to Marist, the weekend gave Astoria a good benchmark of where they are in comparison to other top 4A opponents. The Fishermen have climbed to No. 9 in the 4A volleyball rankings.
Warrenton holds their own
Though the Warriors were disappointed they didn’t make the championship bracket, the young Warriors continue to get battle tested.
The eight freshmen, one sophomore team got unlucky with their pool. Warrenton got stuck in a pool with both Stayton and Marist, which proved decisive. Despite taking a set off of Stayton in pool play, the Warriors ended up as the ninth-seeded team. After receiving a first round bye, Warrenton swept Neah-Kah-Nie away in straight sets to set up a matchup with 4A Taft.
Taft entered the weekend ranked No. 11 in 4A and Warrenton battled them until the end. After losing the first set 25-17, the Warriors battled back to win set two 25-21. Taft would survive set three to take home the 25-17, 21-25 and 15-12 victory in the consolation bracket.
Even though the Warriors didn’t have a chance to play in the championship bracket, the girls still got to play Stayton, Marist Catholic and Taft. Each one of these games will help the fresh-eyed freshmen get more battle tested at the high school level.
Seaside starts well, but falters
Seaside’s volleyball team started off well in pool play, winning five sets and losing just one.
The Seagulls ended as the third seed and played Stayton. After starting off fast and forcing an early timeout from the Eagles, Seaside was not able to keep the momentum. Playing without libero Chloe Baker made things tough for the Seagulls and Stayton ended up taking control of the match as they won 25-15 and 25-8.
Just like with Warrenton, this match will serve as a good learning experience for a rebuilding Seaside program. Though they are currently on a seven-game losing streak, the team has shown improved play under first-year coach Nicole Aydt. The Seagulls winning all three matches in pool play and ending up as the third seed is still a good confidence booster for this team as they head into the closing stretch.