The competition stepped up this past week in hopes that the roster benefits down the road.
Platte County (5-2) started with a loss to Liberty North and closed with a split against Lee’s Summit and Liberty — all Class 3 programs. The Pirates believe that type of opportunity can benefit them in a chase for a second-ever team district title and first since 2023.
On Monday, Liberty North (6-1) handed Platte County the first loss of this season with an 8-1 victory. The Eagles swept the six singles matches and have now won six straight matchups between the two teams and eight of the last nine.
“Had a rough go of it,” Platte County coach Scott Blakley said. “Liberty North’s a tough team. Outside of Liberty, they’re probably the best team we’ll play this year.”
Platte County’s highlight came in another victory for the No. 2 doubles team of senior Macy Doll and sophomore Clare Hayter. The Pirates were in position to make the No. 3 match tighter, but senior Katelyn Newberry and junior Jayne Muir dropped the final game after having advantage in deuce multiple times in an 8-5 loss.
Hayter played almost exclusively No. 6 singles as a freshman for Platte County and formed a new doubles team with Doll, a third-year contributor in the lineup.
“Very proud of the way they’re playing,” Blakley said. “They’re playing good doubles, aggressive — serve well, volley well.”
Platte County did have a different scenario in Wednesday’s unique triangular of duals with Raytown and Raytown South — a first-year program — at Platte County High School.
Platte County won 7-2 against Raytown and 9-0 vs. Raytown South in matchups played simultaneously. The Pirates uniquely divided players into separate lineups with the top 12 on the roster split between the even- and odd-ranked players and then a mix of those players and others further down the list in doubles.
“It was a really fun opportunity for most of the girls on the roster to play varsity,” Blakley said. “And we tried to make this fun for those teams, too, especially a team just getting started like Raytown South.”
Platte County actually hoped to play two more Class 3 teams, but Blue Springs South ended up canceling on Thursday due to the heat, which then also canceled the final dual of Friday’s Liberty Invitational. However, the Pirates were encouraged with the split of two matches Friday before the weather intervened.
A top-four finisher at state each of the past four seasons, Liberty (7-0) swept all nine matches in the morning dual with Platte County winning just three games total in those.
“Liberty really set the tone early,” Blakley said. “It was all about how good they were and not anything about us.”
Against Lee’s Summit, Platte County came out of doubles with a lead in the shortened matches with wins for Doll and Hayter at No. 2 (6-4) and Newberry and Muir (6-0). The Pirates also saw some positive results in victories for senior No. 1 Ellie Kaser (6-1) and junior No. 2 Macie Keith (7-5) — two more third-year contributors.
Newberry (No. 4), Doll (No. 5) and Muir (No. 6) also took singles matches for Platte County, which briefly started an afternoon dual with Kickapoo before players were pulled off the court due to the excessive heat. The Pirates now prep for a busy consequential week with Suburban Conference White Division duals against Fort Osage, Belton and Truman while also hosting St. Pius X on Wednesday with the No. 1 seed on the line for Class 2 District 8 play.
St. Pius X (4-0) and Platte County have played in the title match of Class 2 District 8 each of the past three seasons. The Pirates need the other wins to wrap up the conference title after having already knocked off Grain Valley and Raytown.
