Platte County adds to ongoing legacy with 4th-place state finish

Platte County created a stressful habit of dropping the first set of postseason matches, but successful outcomes in those scenarios ended in a disappointing but rewarding trip to the Show-Me Center in Cape Girardeau. The Pirates played inspired and hung close in eventual Class 4 state champion St. Pius X (Festus)’s sweep of Wednesday’s semifinal matchup and then couldn’t complete the comeback in Lutheran St. Charles’ 25-11, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17 victory in Thursday’s third-place match.

In four of the final five postseason matches, Platte County (22-13-1) dropped the opening set but came back to win a Class 4 District 8 semifinal with St. Pius X and state quarterfinal with Notre Dame de Sion, which pushed the Pirates to five sets as did Kearney in the district championship match.

Platte County reached the state semifinals for the third time in five years but couldn’t match the third-place showings from 2020 and 2022. Instead, the Pirates’ rebuilt roster eventually can find solace in continuing the program’s run of success, now spanning nearly a decade.

“I know this wasn’t the outcome that the girls wanted, but I could not be more proud of them and all their accomplishments this year,” Platte County coach Katlyn Donovan said. “We talked after the third-place match that it is OK to be disappointed in the results, but you will be able to think back about the amazing careers they had. Many athletes will never get to be in the position they were in: winning a district title — multiple years — winning a quarterfinal match, and placing at state. All the things they learned about themselves through volleyball will carry on into their personal and professional lives.”

Coming off the loss to St. Pius X (Festus), Platte County looked out of sorts to open the match with Lutheran St. Charles, which took the first three points and an initial 7-1 lead. The Pirates went behind double digits at 15-5 and were not closer than seven the rest of the way with a combination of errors and violations piling up.

“I don’t think you can pinpoint one thing that caused the struggles or miscues in the first set,” Donovan said. “I will always say that teams can communicate more when we are struggling, and we should have done a better job of that. I think that we were putting too much pressure on ourselves to succeed at every point.”

Platte County seemingly created another potential pathway to a comeback in the third-place match.

Lutheran St. Charles (24-14), which needed five sets to beat Jefferson City in Class 4’s other semifinal, dominated the first set and then started to pull away in the second with senior setter Katelyn Diani-O’Day using dump sets to vary the Cougars’ attack and bypass Platte County’s defense. The Pirates trailed 7-3 going into a timeout, only for freshman libero Samantha O’Day to come out of the stoppage with one of her two service aces that helped eventually extend a run to 9-0.

Down 10-3 at that point, Platte County started to find success through the front line combination of junior middle hitter Emma Macaluso (six kills) and freshman Miah Omoike (nine kills, three solo blocks). Macaluso ended another Lutheran St. Charles run, and Omoike responded with a big hit for another kill to close the gap to 14-6.

A block from Omoike helped build some momentum, and Platte County junior Carissa Bacon, part of a two-setter rotation, helped finish off an impossibly long rally with a tip that went off the block close the deficit to 16-15. The Pirates then came out of a timeout with two more points to take the lead at 17-16.

A pair of kills from Macaluso started what ended up a 7-0 run to finish the set that Bacon continued with both of her aces while recording the final six service points of the set. She also matched senior setter Sailor Bane for the team-high in the match for assists with 17, and both added 12 digs.

“It was great to see the connection (Emma and Carissa) built during the 2nd set,” Donovan said. “Emma does a great job of finding the open spot when hitting, and Carissa does a nice job of finding and continuing to set the hot hitters. Her and Emma definitely gave us a spark in the second set to lead us to victory.”

The critical third set started out very tight, and Platte County scored three unanswered to take a 6-5 lead. Lutheran St. Charles responded with four in a row and wouldn’t trail again. The Pirates closed within one multiple times but couldn’t fully close the gap.

Platte County senior Karlee Riggs, who should become the program’s first three-time all-state player, provided an ace, and Bacon added a kill on a dump set to trim the advantage 23-20, but the Cougars scored the next two points to take the important lead after three sets.

Riggs, who finished with team-highs of 12 kills and 26 digs in an inspired final match, came up with a cross-court kill as part of 2-0 start for Platte County in the fourth. Omoike quickly returned serve to the Pirates with a kill on the way to a 4-1 lead, and a kill senior Ava Moffitt — one of her six to go with 14 digs — plus a net violation made it 10-8.

However, Lutheran St. Charles eventually went up 19-14 before Bacon ended a run, only to see the Cougars pull away and finish off the victory.

Platte County junior libero Gia Derose finished with 24 digs in a match filled with lengthy rallies, but Riggs played the role of all-around star while closing out one of the best careers in program history, adding two blocks and two aces. She came in with the only prior state semifinal and place match experience, while Macaluso and junior right side/middle hitter Malin Cole (one kill) were starters a year ago.

“Karlee is one-of-a-kind athlete, and the growth she has had throughout her career was amazing to watch,” Donovan said. “From her breakout sophomore season to being a vocal leader for us is something that every coach loves to see. What I loved most about Karlee this year was her ability to lead by example. She did all the little things that can go unnoticed like picking up the volleyballs, making sure nothing was left behind. We knew coming into this season that Karlee would need to play a large role for us and play six rotations. In previous years, she was a three-rotation outside hitter, but she worked hard in the offseason to become an even more well-rounded player.

“As a coaching staff, we never wanted Karlee off the floor because we knew we would miss her leadership.”

Platte County saw a successful season — the eighth straight with at least 20 wins for the program — and the careers of five seniors come to an end. Riggs and Moffitt, a first-year starter, were key components of the Pirates’ balanced attack, Bane settled into her split duties at setter, while Rylee Pickett and Daphne Churchill were back row reserves.

In the past four years, Platte County’s 2024 class experienced three district titles and two state runs. The Pirates went into this season after graduating a large and talented senior class, started 6-0 and then endured some difficult stretches to eventually make a memorable postseason push that resulted in just the third state trophy in program history — all from the past five years.

“I am so proud of this team and this group of seniors and all that they accomplished this year,” Donovan said. “We talked in the locker room after the Lutheran game about the importance of the senior group and the legacy that they have left on Platte County volleyball. I know I talked previously about the quote on the back of their shirts and the seniors decide what the quote for the year is. I think the “Leave A Legacy” quote could not be more fitting for this group of seniors. They were able to overcome the ups and downs this season and succeed as a group to reach the final four.”

St. Pius X (Festus) 3, Platte County 0

After letting a late lead in the second set slip away, the Pirates were unable to avoid a sweep Wednesday at Show-Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

St. Pius X (Festus) (37-2-1) pulled away for a tight 25-18, 27-25, 25-22 victory in the semifinal matchup. The Lancers never trailed in the third set after needing extra points to win the second.

Riggs finished with a team-high 10 kills, while Omoike flashed her immense potential with four kills, three aces and four total blocks (one solo), but Platte County couldn’t create enough sustained runs thanks St. Pius X (Festus)’s efficient attack. However, the Pirates were at times able to exploit a rotational defense that heavily relied on effective block.

“We knew that SPX was going to be a very tough team, but we talked about some weaknesses that they had,” Donovan said. “I know the SPX outcome is not what we wanted, but I am proud of how the girls fought and responded to the adjustments that we made against them.”

Platte County claimed the opening point of the match but didn’t lead again in the first set. The Pirates called a timeout down 6-2 and briefly responded with a 3-0 run that included a pair of kills for Riggs — the second coming on a clever tip that bypassed the block. Another one moments later closed the gap to 8-7.

St. Pius X (Festus) saw the lead hit one five junior times and called a timeout at 13-12 in what ended up a pivotal point. Lancers junior Caitlyn McNail went on a lengthy service run started with back-to-back kills from senior Hannah Leftridge — one of four players to record at least six kills for them (sophomore Kate Sherry, 13; junior Bennett Rateman, 10; and senior Anne Makowski, six).

Back-to-back aces from Omoike pulled Platte County within 18-15. Bacon (12 assists, five kills) added another moments later to make the score 19-17, but the Pirates came no closer in dropping the opening set.

“I don’t think there was a comfort level because ideally you don’t want to be in that position, but I think it created confidence in ourselves knowing that we can lose a first set and still rebound from it,” Donovan said. “Knowing that we had been in these positions previously helped us to understand that we could come back from being 0-1. After every first set loss, we tried to adjust whatever needed to be adjusted to help us in the rest of the sets whether that was offensive or defensive adjustments.”

The adjustments took hold early in the second set.

A long service run from Riggs, which included an ace, gave Platte County the first lead since the opening point of the match at 5-4, and the advantage went to 6-4 and 8-6 on a block from Omoike and Cole (two kills, two blocks) before St. Pius X (Festus) responded with three unanswered. The Pirates turned the tide again using the block, starting with one from Bacon and Omoike ahead of her third ace of the semifinal.

Despite some attack errors, Omoike proved crucial in the second set surge.

“Poised is the word that defines the start of Miah’s career,” Donovan said. “From the first day she walked into open gyms, we knew that Miah was going to contribute in a big way. In every big moment this season, Miah has risen to the occasion. There is never a moment that is too big for her, and if it was, you would never know because she plays every game with poise and composure.In the SPX match, Miah put up some huge blocks and had some aggressive kills for us, which caused SPX to change their game plan.”

Platte County eventually led 23-20 but took a timeout after two straight from St. Pius X (Festus), which had just given a free ball that created an opportunity for the Pirates to create a set point situation. Instead, the Pirates took another timeout with the score tied at 23-23 before the Lancers missed out on the first opportunity to close out the second.

A kill from Moffitt (seven digs) put Platte County up 25-24, but St. Pius X scored the next three points to take the critical 2-0 lead.

“It is always frustrating to have a lead and let it slip away in any match, but it was even more frustrating because of the situation we were in,” Donovan said. “It was the (state) semifinals. We had a lead against a top team in Missouri, not just Class 4, and it just didn’t go our way. It’s never a good feeling to let a lead slip away but we have also been on the other side of it, and that is what makes sports so great.”

St. Pius X bolted to leads of 4-0 and 5-1 in the third, only for Riggs to supply a kill that closed the gap to 5-4. The next run of 6-1 created a big gap.

A strong service run for Derose (nine digs, one ace) provided one of Platte County’s final pushes. However, St. Pius X (Festus) belt four different seven-point leads, and an ace from Bane (team-high 10 digs, seven assists) pulled the Pirates to 22-20 only for the Lancers to close out the win on the third match point.

St. Pius X (Festus) went on to beat Jefferson City in four sets to earn the fourth state championship in program history but first since 2017.