The first home match in program history didn’t conclude with a victory, but an encouraging inaugural season continued two days later with another strong tournament showing.
Platte County junior Preston Cavan hits a pass against Northland Christian last Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County lost in straight sets to Northland Christian last Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse in a competitive nonconference matchup. On Saturday, the Pirates traveled to Oak Park High School in Kansas City for the Chopping Block Invitational, going 1-1-1 in pool play and reaching the semifinals.
For the second straight week, Platte County lost to the eventual champion.
Park Hill South dominated early on the way to a 25-14, 25-21 sweep of Platte County in the semifinals then topped the hosts in three sets to finish the day. The Pirates managed limited offense in the last of five matches on the day with senior Bryton Bertram and juniors Jokubas Lebedevas and Joshua Echeverry finishing with three kills apiece compared to 10 attack errors.
Bertram added two of Platte County’s five service aces, but the Pirates’ defense at the net stood out in nearly taking the second set. William Babcock, another senior, and Bertram finished with two block assists apiece.
Platte County opened with a 25-19, 25-21 split with Belton behind five kills for Echeverry and four for junior Drake White. Cooper Miles, a freshman setter, led the Pirates with eight assists, and Babcock topped the defense with eight digs.
Platte County junior Joshua Echeverry prepares to hit a serve against Northland Christian last Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
After a 25-18, 25-19 loss to host and eventual runnerup Oak Park, Platte County dominated a matchup with Lafayette (St. Joseph) to close pool play with some momentum. Miles put up a career-high 13 assists, and Bertram led the offense with five kills, while Echeverry and Lebedevas added four apiece. Echeverry (four), Bertram (three) and junior Preston Cavan (two) combined for all of the nine service aces.
Platte County also recorded seven total blocks — three solo for White.
In bracket play, Platte County advanced out of the quarterfinals with a 25-13, 25-15 sweep of Benton with Bertram (five), White (four), Lebedevas (three), Echeverry (three) and Miles (three) responsible for the 18 total kills. The service game produced 14 aces — four apiece for Echeverry and Cavan, and the Pirates consistently turned back Benton’s offense. Babcock and Cavan had eight digs apiece, while Echeverry added seven.
Platte County’s loss to Park Hill South left the overall record at 5-4-1 ahead of a lengthy break before returning to nonconference action Monday at Staley and then hosting Kearney on Wednesday. Northland Christian spoiled the Pirates’ home debut with a 25-15, 25-19, 25-13 sweep last week.
Echeverry finished with a career-high nine kills, while Bertram added five, but 26 attack errors piled up for Platte County, which went 3-1 at the Hy-Vee Tournament the prior weekend. Cavan ended up with both of the Pirates’ two service aces and a team-high 10 digs.
Miles also had his first career game with double-digit assists (10), while senior Alex Stinson added seven in the two-setter rotation.
