Platte County junior Kendall Johnson hits a pass during a match with Kearney on Monday at Platte County High School. TODD NUGENT/PC Preps Extra

Platte County bounces back from season-opening loss to blast Staley

Johnson on attack, Wheeler sisters at service line deliver a sweep of Falcons a night after disappointing defeat in home opener.

Platte County didn’t have much of a reprieve to formulate a response. Coming off a season-opening loss a night earlier, the Pirates went into Falcon Fieldhouse on Tuesday and came away with a dominating 25-15, 25-9, 25-17 sweep of Staley in Kansas City.

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Platte County senior Madison Haugsven goes low for a dig in a match against Kearney on Monday at Platte County High School.

The resounding victory not only evened Platte County’s record at 1-1 but also provided an early sign of progress for a roster not necessarily young but also lacking experience.

“The thing we talked about most (in the locker room) was building the trust we have with the six girls on the court,” Platte County coach Katlyn Donovan said after a 3-0 loss to Kearney the night earlier. “We have a lot of girls that got some experience last year but not necessarily the experience we needed moving forward. I just felt there was a little lack of trust, and that’s something we can definitely work on.”

Platte County showed that trust in the win over Staley.

Kendall Johnson, a junior and returning starter, continued her transition to more time as an outside hitter with a team-high 11 kills, while senior first-year starter Madison Hoyt impressed at middle blocker with a hand in seven of the Pirates’ nine blocks — two solo and five assists. They also rolled up 13 assists with seven from junior Jenna Wheeler and three for junior Ava Wheeler.

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Platte County senior Karsyn Stehlik hits a spike between two Kearney defenders during a match Monday at Platte County High School.

In just her second start, Platte County junior setter Emma Harned dished out 24 assists.

Platte County entered the season off a fifth straight 20-win season but replaced two-time all-state outside hitter Kate Brown along with two-year steady starter at setter Emerson Walter as the headliners of a strong four-player senior class. The Pirates will be relying more and more on Johnson, senior Karsyn Stehlik (eight kills) and sophomore Karleee Riggs (four kills) in attack and Hoyt and junior second-year starter Tatiana Murray (three kills, two block assists in the middle).

The defense will also look different with a big rotation right now including Ava Wheeler (eight digs), Jenna Wheeler (five digs) and senior Madison Haugsven (two digs) all involved.

“I think we have our own identity for each individual and as a team to find,” Donovan said. “We’ve had a lot of success the last four years with a lot of key contributors, and a lot of these girls didn’t have to step up into a go-to role. I think they’re learning now someone has to be the go-to hitter, someone has to step up and take the serve-receive ball, someone has to step up and take it defensively. I think we’re learning that we don’t have the people we have had in the past.”

Platte County rolled to big leads in both the first and second sets and never received much of a challenge.

Staley trailed 16-3 and 23-8 in the opener before a late push then went behind 13-1, 15-3 and 17-4 in the second set. The Pirates then finished off the sweep in the tightest of three sets. Long service runs were key.

Platte County now will enjoy a break before the program’s first-ever Suburban Conference White Division match at home vs. Raytown on Tuesday. The Pirates have won 39 straight matches in league play, but all of those came playing in the Blue Division before moving up this year. The run includes three straight conference titles.

Kearney 3, Platte County 0

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Platte County junior Ava Wheeler hits a pass during a match with Kearney on Monday at Platte County High School.

The Pirates showed fight in the third and final set of Monday’s home opener but couldn’t avoid a 25-13, 25-17, 26-24 sweep in the nonconference rivalry matchup.

Kearney survived four set points and used a 6-0 run to finish off the victory, just as Platte County looked to be gaining the momentum. Riggs played a starring role as the only sophomore on the roster, recording a team-high nine kills to go with a pair of service aces.

A kill from Stehlik capped a 5-1 run in the third set for Platte County that made it 21-15, and the Pirates’ first set point came at 24-2-. They didn’t score again in a frustrating finish, just as the momentum seemed to have turned.

“That’s a learning experience,” Donovan said. “That comes with growth and with playing together, but we’ll get better. That was only match one.”

Kearney jumped out early in the first set, using a fast-paced offense that frustrated a rebuilt Platte County attack. The Pirates didn’t have a single block. They also committed seven service errors and 10 serve receive errors.

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Platte County sophomore Karlee Riggs hits a spike during a match with Kearney on Monday at Platte County High School.

After falling 25-13 in the opening set, Platte County received a pair of kills from Riggs to take a 3-1 lead in the second.

Kearney went up 6-5 and then put up three unanswered to go in front 11-8 and force a timeout from Donovan. Platte County would continue to hang around, and a pair of Johnson’s eight kills cut the deficit to 15-13 but even a diverse offense didn’t do enough — Stehlik added seven kills, while Hoyt and Murray came up with three apiece — couldn’t create a lengthy run needed.

“Kearney did a really good job of running a fast offense, and I don’t think we were mentally prepared for that,” Donovan said. “And I don’t think we had the fight that we normally see out of us. We got a little complacent, a little nervous. We can’t be scared.”

Down 2-0, Platte County quickly fell behind again in the third, but kills from Hoyt and Riggs evened the score early at 2-2. There were ties at 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4, and an ace from Johnson put the Pirates in front 6-5. Kearney then took a timeout trailing by two.

Platte County pushed it to 8-5 and then 12-9 on an ace from Riggs that started a service run that included a second ace to push the lead to 15-9.

“Karlee Riggs played great tonight,” Donovan said. “She is the ultimate competitor for sure. She wants to win everything that she does, and she gives great effort. She didn’t start out serving in the first set but had a great service run, and we’ve told her she can be a six-rotation player by the end of it. I think she’s working toward that. She puts up a big block; she’s a good aggressive hitter, and she’s really smart with the game of volleyball so I’m really proud of how she played.”

Donovan used a timeout to stop a run of four unanswered from Kearney that made it 16-14, and the 5-1 run capped by Stehlik’s kill followed. Platte County didn’t finish it off with a chance to force at least a fourth set. The Pirates’ 39-match Blue Division winning streak included recent dominance of Kearney, which was the last team to beat the Pirates in league play.

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