The talent shows in flashes, and there were more than enough waves of momentum in Wednesday’s home match at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County junior Jokubas Lebedevas hits a server against Kearney on Wednesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County dominated start to finish in a 25-17, 25-18, 25-17 sweep of Kearney at Pirate Fieldhouse to maintain a winning record and earn the first home win in program history. identity as a fun-loving collection of players enjoying the ups and downs. The Pirates have now added the first home win in program history
“It feels great, man,” said Platte County junior Joshua Echeverry, who recorded team-highs of nine kills and three service aces against Kearney. “It feels good to be here with this team and the energy they bring forth to this game. They play with all of their heart and everything inside of them. First home win, that’s big. It’s leaving a legacy for the all the years to come.”
Platte County (7-5-1) came into the season with only Echeverry and junior libero Preston Cavan having significant prior experience the sport. However, the assembled roster continues to produce memorable moments despite also working through growing pains at times.
On Wednesday, Echeverry finished off both the second and third sets with authoritative spikes for Platte County, but in addition, senior Bryton Bertram and junior Jokubas Lebedevas added eight kills apiece, while six players recorded at least one ace. Cavan led the serve receive and defense with 17 digs, and the Pirates continued to split setter duties between freshman Cooper Miles (career-high 17 assists) and senior Alex Stinson, who added nine assists.
Platte County junior libero Preston Cavan bumps a pass against Kearney on Wednesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
“Volleyball’s a team game. You bring your teammates up, everybody comes up and plays at your level,” Echeverry said. “And so I think that’s one of the most important things is that chemistry, and yeah, that’s how we get along so well.”
After a dominant opening set, Platte County raced to a 7-1 lead in the second with one of Echeverry’s aces prompting a Kearney timeout. The advantage hit 14-5 and 18-8 with the Bulldogs struggling to sustain any momentum.
In fact, Kearney’s two timeouts both led to immediate wideouts but only provided temporary reprieves.
In the third set, Platte County led 2-0 after the last of Echeverry’s aces and then 6-1. The Pirates never trailed in the final two sets, but Kearney did briefly close the gap to 9-8 in the third. The Pirates took a timeout and responded with an 8-1 run and essentially ended any hopes of a comeback bid.
That marked another positive sign for Platte County, which continues to build around the combination of Echeverry, Cavan, Bertram (two aces) and Lebedevas (12 digs). However, the Pirates have also come up with steady setter play, while senior William Babcock (three kills, one ace) and junior Drake White (five kills) have become important depth pieces.
“Our team sometimes folds under pressure, but we always comeback and we come back stronger,” Echeverry said. “And that’s what they have proven today and a lot of times before.”
Platte County freshman Cooper Miles (5), senior Bryton Bertram (11) and junior Jokubas Lebedevas (18) go up for a block against Kearney on Wednesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County’s strong early results have included solid showings at two tournaments with strong fields. Next comes the start of conference play with a road triangular at Fort Osage with Brian Valley the other team involved.
Staley 2, Platte County 0
Platte County 2, Park Hill 0
The Pirates ended up with a triangular split Monday night at Staley High School in Kansas City, dropping the opener to the hosts but coming back to knock off Park Hill.
Two of Platte County’s five losses have come to Staley, one of the best teams in the Kansas City area. However, two of the Pirates’ wins have now come against Park Hill.
In the opener, depth in attack for Platte County showed in the 25-17, 25-17 sweep of the Trojans. Bertram (five), Lebedevas and Echeverry (four each), Babcock (three) and Miles (two) all finished with multiple kills. On defense, the Pirates also were strong on defense at the net with Lebedevas (five), Miles (four) and Echeverry (three) leading the way in blocks.
Cavan totaled six digs.
Miles turned in a strong all-around performance. In addition to the two dump kills and four blocks at the net, he had a team-high nine assists and an ace.
Staley (18-2) earned a 25-8, 25-19 sweep behind strong play up front. Platte County struggled, committing nine attack errors and Lebedevas finishing with a team-high three kills. Bertram accounted for the Pirates’ only service ace, and there were only 17 total digs — another six from Cavan.
