Belton turns back Platte County’s late push in key conference matchup

Even after obviously struggling through the first two sets, Platte County probably felt a sense of letting a potential significant victory slip away Tuesday night at Pirate Fieldhouse.

Belton staged a late rally to close out a 25-18, 25-11, 22-25, 25-22 victory in an important Suburban Conference White Division matchup between expected contenders. Platte County’s retooled lineup received a boost from the return of sophomore Miah Omoike (team-high 11 kills plus three blocks) after she missed the start of the season with a shoulder injury.

Platte County (9-4) valiantly rallied back from a 2-0 deficit and appeared set to force a fifth set, only to have Belton score nine of the match’s final nine points.

“I feel like we were really passive early, and we weren’t earning enough points,” Platte County coach Katlyn Donovan said. “We were kind of just giving them free balls, and they’re a good enough team that if we give them easy chances, they’ll be able to convert. That’s what they did.

“If we would’ve played like we did in the third and fourth sets during the first and the second sets, it could have been a different outcome for sure.”

Belton took all the momentum into the third set and took an early lead.

Platte County steadied behind a strong service run for senior libero Gia DeRose, who finished with three of the team’s five aces, to eventually build an 11-7 lead that forced Belton into a timeout. Platte County sophomore setter Ella Cruce added an ace to make the advantage 14-11 at a critical point but saw her next serve go into the net.

By the time of the next sideout, Belton had led 16-14.

Platte County went on to lead 17-16, 19-17 and 21-18 only to give up three unanswered and end up tied once again. However, senior Malin Cole, shifting from inside to outside hitter in her third year as a starter, come up with one of her nine kills to end the run to set up the closing run and a 25-22 set victory.

“I appreciate how they responded after the first and second set because we easily could’ve just given up,” Donovan said. “I’m proud of us competing and battling back in that third set. Belton definitely felt more pressure. We were a lot more in system and mixing up our sets and serving more aggressive.”

Platte County then shifted momentum and built early leads of 7-3 and 15-11 in the fourth set, the second four-point advantage after one of senior middle hitter Emma Macaluso’s four kills. Belton answered with four unanswered to force a tie but didn’t pull back ahead until late.

An unorthodox dump kill from Platte County senior setter/right side hitter Carissa Bacon on the third hit of a rally started a 5-1 run capped with a block from senior Emma Brinkman, who recorded a team-high six to go with three kills. Belton trailed 21-16 but came up with the first extended run since the second set to come up with the victory.

“This is the competition that we need moving forward,” Donovan said. “Right at the end there, Belton got on a good run. We knew they were a tough serving team. We ended those runs quickly for a while but then they gave us a run right when we didn’t them to give us a run.”

Belton mostly dominated the first two sets, jumping to a 7-3 lead in the first.

Platte County came within 7-6 but needed timeouts after falling behind 14-8 and 17-9. Omoike came up with a kill out of the first break, and Belton ceded a 4-0 run after the second but eventually closed out the first set with a comfortable seven-point margin.

In the second set, Platte County took a pair of early leads but couldn’t consistently generate offense, finishing with 17 attack errors. Belton pulled away and seemed in position to pull an impressive sweep against a Platte County lineup still building an identity after losing three important seniors and playing the first six matches without Omoike, who provided a steadying return and showed off the dynamic skills that made her a standout freshman.

“I think it’s hard to mess up any rhythm when Miah comes back in to play,” said Donovan, who has led Platte County to the playoffs in four of the past five seasons with three of those runs ending up with appearances in the state semifinals. “People focus on her a little more when she’s in the front row. Once she got going, it kind of opened everything up for all of the other hitters.”

Bacon added six kills and a team-high 14 assists as part of Platte County’s two-setter rotation. Cruce added 13 assists and 10 digs, while DeRose had four assists plus a team-high 17 digs.

Platte County’s offensive attack also included three kills for junior Kate Brunner.

Platte County 3, Raytown 0

Coming back from the loss, Platte County recorded a dominant 25-12, 25-18, 25-16 victory Thursday night in Raytown. Omoike again led the offense with 11 kills, while Bacon (nine), Brunner (eight) and Macaluso (seven) followed right behind despite another 17 attack errors for the Pirates, who improved to 3-1 in conference play.

Platte County also racked up 18 service aces, including nine for Cruce and two each for DeRose and senior Evelyn Reith. On defense, Brinkman ended up with a team-high three blocks despite not having a kill, while DeRose supplied 15 digs.

Lansing Invitational

Platte County closed the week in encouraging fashion, going 3-1 in pool play Saturday in Lansing, Kansas, before finishing fourth overall in a tough field of teams from across the state line.

In the third-place match, Lansing took a 25-17, 25-19 sweep despite a strong defensive showing from Platte County with DeRose recording 17 digs, Bacon and Reith adding eight each and senior Ashleigh Cruce finishing with seven. Macaluso led the Pirates with three total blocks, including two solo.

Ella Cruce ended up with the majority of assists, spreading out 10, and Platte County’s offense totaled 19 kills. Brunner led the way with six while Macaluso added five and Cole two.

All five of Platte County’s matches in the tournament went two sets. The Pirates opened by beating Topeka Seaman 26-24, 25-10 with Bacon and Brunner recording six kills apiece, while sophomore Charlotte Schlake, who saw a lot of playing time early in the season with Omoike out, made three blocks while appearing in only one of the two sets.

Bacon (10) and Ella Cruce (seven) were nearly even in assists for Platte County, while Ashleigh Cruce continued to see more time on Platte County’s defensive backline, leading the Pirates with eight digs.

Platte County’s lone loss in pool play came against Blue Valley Southwest (25-15, 25-17) with Brunner the only attacker to find consistent success. She recorded five kills, while Bacon added two service aces. The Pirates bounced right back and swept both Washington (25-8, 25-4) and DeSota (25-23, 26-24) to claim second place in the pool.

Against Washington, Platte County rolled up 29 kills with seven for Brunner, five for Omoike, four for Cole and three each for Brinkman, Bacon and senior Kya Bridges. The Pirates also dominated in the service game and recorded 16 aces, six for Ella Cruce and three each for Bridges and Reith.

Platte County’s defense only needed eight digs — five from DeRose — in the dominant effort. Bacon’s 11 kills helped the Pirates fend off DeSoto in the pivotal matchup to help lift the Pirates to the third-place match, and Ashleigh Cruce added three service aces. Ella Cruce (12) and Bacon (11) were also nearly even on assists, and DeRose topped the defense with nine digs.