Portland Adventist boys volleyball is no stranger to the moment ahead of it this weekend at the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 4A/3A/2A/1A state tournament at West Salem High School.
The Cougars have been to the unsanctioned state title game the last two years when the sport was a club/emerging activity in Oregon.
In the first sanctioned under OSAA, PAA is the No. 1 seed going into the semifinals where it will play No. 4 Westside Christian at 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 29.
“We’ve been pretty consistently playing at a higher level,” Cougars head coach Joe Kim said. “We’ve been consistent with the hard work our boys put in. From last year we lost three seniors out of nine on the team, so this year we picked up some kids from JV and have two seniors this year. We’ve had a pretty decent group that’s moving up the last few years together.”
PAA, a 3A school for most sports, has punched above its weight to win the 4A/3A/2A/1A Special District 1 title, outlasting 4A schools like Molalla and semifinalist Estacada, as well as another state semifinalist in 1A Central Christian.
Leading that charge on the court has been senior Oliver Thompson, who was named the SD1 Player of the Year this season.
Listed at 6-foot-3 and also a basketball player for the Cougars, Thompson’s verticality has given fits for opposing defenses to try and stop.
“The burst that he has and the power that he has, there’s no one that can match that in at least 4A/3A/2A/1A,” Kim said. “He’s just outstanding and we’re going to miss him a ton next year. He deserves that recognition of being the top player in our league.”
The Cougars had two more players named to the first-team of SD1 in juniors Riley Kim and Luke Warda, both outside hitters.
Riley Kim is the son of head coach Joe Kim and has been tagging along to watch his dad and mom coach volleyball over the years.
“My wife and I were coaching together so (Riley) comes down as a seventh grader and start practicing with us and shagging balls,” Joe Kim said. “He’s probably been around volleyball the longest of all the guys.”
Riley was a captain for the Cougars boys soccer team back in the fall and is a captain for the boys volleyball team, and became a starter on the basketball team in the winter as well.
Meanwhile Warda picked up volleyball last year as a sophomore and has developed beautifully in the new sport.
“(Warda has) amazing burst as well and it’s been pretty amazing to see him come along this year,” Joe Kim said. “Huge improvement from the beginning of the year to now where we are because he’s able to do things that most players in a year don’t get better at that quickly.”
Swinging up from JV last year is the Cougars setter in junior Angel Flores, standing in as the always important director of the offense.
The rest of the team has filled in the gaps in 2026 and has continued the upward trajectory of the program that has become one of the best at PAA.
“Our opposites, we have two that are stable, consistent and our setter is just amazing stepping in for his first year,” Joe Kim said. “We have a couple others that fill in as subs that will step up next season, so we’re excited even for next year. But obviously we’ve got some business to finish this year.”
Joe Kim described how each year has been different in the emerging sport with league changes and new opponents to play from all different classifications.
As one of the top programs, part of the focus has been to maintain an intensity with each match, even when it might be against a new team still getting a handle for the sport.
It’s easy to play down a level, and Joe Kim has been impressed by the team maintaining their focus.
“Throughout the season we’ve had this conversation with them, generally when you have some of the schools that you’re playing that are newer to volleyball, you tend to play down and you lose focus,” Joe Kim said. “It’s hard to get any athlete to be motivated when they don’t feel that pressure. … So being able to focus when you don’t have external stimulation, to be able to perform at a high level when you don’t have that pressure behind it is something we’ve worked on all season.”
That motivation will certainly be there this weekend though as the semifinal match with Westside Christian is a rematch of one the Cougars two losses this season. The Eagles won the non-league match 3-2 back on April 9 at PAA.
It was a tough week overall for the Cougars as their only other loss came two days prior in a 3-2 loss at Molalla.
Joe Kim isn’t too worried about that week as it was a difficult one for players due to some non-athletic events going on at the same time.
This week, it’ll all be about volleyball and bringing home a state title, something the Cougars haven’t done at the school since the 2015 boys soccer team won state.
Due to the annual spring concert taking place in the gym at PAA, the Cougars moved practice outside for a couple days this week and turned it more into a party/practice.
A party to celebrate the success the Cougars have already had, and practice for hopefully more good times ahead in Salem.
“If the boys are able to focus and play as a team, communicate, do all the little things well, then the outcome – regardless of who’s first, second, third or fourth – you’re still a success in this season,” Joe Kim said. “Our focus isn’t so much on winning or losing. It’s just do the little things well and then the results will speak for themselves.”
Semifinals matchups (All games played at West Salem High School)
6A/5A
No. 4 Silverton (20-3, 14-2 SD3) vs. No. 1 South Salem (20-1, 16-0 SD3), 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 29
Silverton: The Foxes are led by two first-team all-league selections in senior S/DS Terence Short and junior MB/OH Emery Clark. Short averages over 15 assists and three digs per match, as well as 92% serving mark. Clark averages 6.9 kills per match and has a .246 hitting percentage. Junior Kanoa Buckley is another setter with over 12 assists per match and was an all-league second-team selection. Sophomore Anthony Fragoso is another second-teamer as the Foxes’ libero with 11.1 digs and serve-receiving rating of 2.16. Senior Aden Bradford and sophomore Brock Mantie are two all-around attackers and second-teamers with 5.8 and 8.1 kills per match, respectively. This season is only the third in program history for Silverton and is filled with players who never played the sport prior to high school according to head coach Benson Short, who was named the Special District 3 Coach of the Year. Silverton played South Salem twice as league foes, dropping both matches 3-1. However, they were the only league foe to take two sets off the Saxons. “Out of the teams that are left, I think we are the underdogs, and I know we are the Cinderella story,” Benson Short said. “At the start of the season, I don’t think anyone would have picked us to go this far. We do not have a super star player; we are from a small country town of just over 10k, there's no club boys volleyball team in our town, and we are playing against teams representing entire cities.”
South Salem: The top-seeded Saxons are building off the success of the girls volleyball program, led by the same coach in Matt Leichty. Senior Logan Scott has been a big reason for it as he was named the SD3 Conference Player of the Year. Scott has 296 kills on the season with a hitting percentage of .413, which equates to 5.1 kills per set. Not only is he an attacking machine, but he has 194 digs and 23 aces on the season. He’s set to attend Orange Coast College (CA) next season for volleyball. Junior Tim Ganchenko is another threat at the net as a first-team selection. He actually leads the Saxons in kills with 323 on the year and has a hitting percentage of .291. He’s another all-around player as well with 222 digs, 34 aces and 15 blocks. The last first-team choice from South Salem is senior setter Connor Wolfgram who dished out 861 assists this season while picking up 45 aces and 97 digs. Senior L/OH Eddie Hernandez was named to the league’s second-team with 137 digs, 31 aces and 91 kills in 2026. The Saxons lone loss this year came to No. 1 Central Catholic at the Saxons’ home tournament, but they’ll need to take down Silverton for a third time in order to reach the title match first.
No. 3 Summit (14-3, 8-0 SD4) vs. No. 2 Central Catholic (20-0, 14-0 SD1), 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 29
Summit: The Storm won last year’s unsanctioned 5A state title and are looking to prove themselves now against the 6A state champ from last year. Summit was one of two teams (along with Central Catholic) to start the year in Austin, Texas at the First Point National High School Invitational. Leading the way for the Storm are four Special District 4 first-team choices in junior Beckett White, junior Anand Groves, senior Ian Mylne and junior Eddie Archer. White, an OH, led the team in kills and is averaging 11 per match while Groves is another net player as an OH/OP. Directing the offensive traffic is Mylne, the setter, who led the Storm in assists. Archer is in the back row as the libero and led the team in digs. Junior Ryker Loos and senior Nash Olegario were named to the league’s second-team and are vital pieces as well. Loos, an MB, led the team in hitting percentage with a remarkable .462 average and Olegario, also an MB, led in blocks with just over two per match. Summit’s only loss to an in-state opponent came April 11 at South Salem. Since then, the Storm have only lost two sets total during a 13-match winning streak.
Central Catholic: The Rams are the lone undefeated team in the state, but did lose some pool play matches when they began the year at First Point National High School Invitational in Austin, Texas. Senior OP Dwight Nguyen is committed to play Division II men’s volleyball next year at Vanguard University (CA). In official matches, Central Catholic has only dropped four total sets in 20 matches, one each to Arizona College Prep (AZ), La Salle Prep in two different matches, and David Douglas.
4A/3A/2A/1A
No. 4 Westside Christian (19-4, 7-0 SD2) vs. No. 1 Portland Adventist (13-2, 11-1 SD1), 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 29
Westside Christian: The Eagles are the champions of Special District 2 and enter the final four after winning both of their playoff matches in straight sets over Cottage Grove and Junction City. They have two first-team all-leaguers, starting with senior setter Tyler Im who had 528 assists and 55 aces on the season. The other first-teamer is senior Ollie Stark, an all-around OH who had 129 kills and 23 aces. Three Westside Christian players made the second-team, including the Eagles kill leader in senior MB Judah Kurkinen who had 181 kills this season to go with 50 blocks and 17 aces. Senior Zion Cloutier is another OH who had 117 kills and brings the energy according to head coach Dr. Jacob Van Wickle. Sophomore Israel Damian is the final second-teamer and is the team’s libero, a “scrappy, aggressive, everywhere at once,” kind of player. Senior MB Mage Pruski led the team in blocks with 82. "This has been a really fun and sentimental season with a core group of seniors who first started playing organized volleyball two years ago,” Van Wickle said. “Now in the third year of boys volleyball at Westside, it has been so rewarding to watch them play, see how much they have grown, and improved as a team. This team really believes in each other, and we feel so excited and blessed to be part of the State Tournament and have a chance to play for the trophy!" The Eagles are the only non-Special District 1 team to make the final four, but three of their four losses came to SD1 teams in Molalla, Estacada and Damascus Christian at a regular season ending tournament at Estacada.
Portland Adventist: Read the story above!
No. 7 Central Christian (14-6, 8-4 SD1) vs. No. 3 Estacada (16-5, 8-4 SD1), 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 29
Central Christian: The Tigers out of Redmond swept Phoenix in round one, then went on the road to pull off the upset of No. 2 Cascade in five sets in order to make the final four. Central Christian is a balanced group led by the lone all-league first-team choice in junior S/OH Ben Teixeira. The junior led the team in assists with 627 and also tied for first with aces with 30 alongside senior S Jase Johnson, an all-league honorable mention. Johnson also led the team in blocks with 63 and digs with 104. Sophomore MB Rawley Tritto was an all-league second-team choice with 43 blocks and combined with Johnson for a .220 hitting percentage out of the middle of the net, 237 specifically for Tritto which was a team high. Junior Gavin Sharp led the offense all season with 232 kills as a six-rotation outside hitter. Central Christian has never won a state team or individual title and is looking for major school history, especially as a 1A school among a 4A and two 3A schools in the final four. The Tigers split two league matches with Estacada, winning the first on the road 3-2 on April 9 and falling in straight sets at home May 5. Central Christian also played top-seed Portland Adventist twice, dropping both matches 3-1.
Estacada: The Rangers took care of Horizon Christian Tualatin and Crosshill Christian to make the final four, making it three out of four teams representing SD1. Two players represented Estacada on the all-league squad, starting with senior MB Ethan Myers who led the team in kills and blocks. Then there is junior S/OH Isaac Crandell who led the Rangers in serving percentage and aces while being the setter in a 5-1 system. Sophomore MB Cody Feil was right behind Myers in both blocks and kills while junior Darister Alcutt led in digs and serve-receive percentage. Junior Zander Hulsey was another big weapon defensively and junior Abram Stalcup, listed as an OP, had a strong end to the season. “One of the biggest strengths of this team has been its resilience and ability to compete under pressure,” Estacada head coach Sue Doan said. “Estacada has consistently responded in big moments with toughness, energy, and a team-first mentality.” The Rangers split two meetings with Central Christian this year, falling 3-2 at home on April 9 but getting revenge in Redmond with a 3-0 win on May 5. Estacada is also one of three teams to either beat Portland Adventist or push the match to three sets, falling to the Cougars 3-2 on April 2. The Rangers also played Westside Christian in their season-end tournament, winning the match 2-1.
austinw@osaa.org
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