Platte County honored eight seniors before Tuesday’s regular season home finale at Pirate Fieldhouse and then the accomplished group led a tidy sweep that added to their legacy. The Pirates’ 25-6, 25-6, 25-10 romp over William Chrisman locked up at least a share of a fifth straight league title.
Platte County senior Kendall Johnson goes up for a spike against William Chrisman on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Two days later, Platte County completed an undefeated run through the Suburban Conference White Division with a victory over Grain Valley. The first three championships in the current streak came in the Blue Division before moving up and winning the White Division crown now in back-to-back seasons.
“When I was a freshman, that’s what the seniors left (for us), so it feels good to do the same thing for the younger girls,” Platte County senior outside hitter Kendall Johnson said.
Platte County (19-7-2) blew past William Chrisman with Johnson and senior middle hitter Tatianna Murray combining for 17 kills, while the Pirates produced a dominant service game with 20 total aces — a team-high six for Johnson, five for senior libero Jenna Wheeler and four for senior setter Ava Wheeler.
All eight seniors played their part with Avery Walter and Ava Filger providing six digs apiece on the deep back row, while Kenadi Brown continued to play a more prominent role with three kills and three digs. Her playing time increased when senior Cierra Poldberg suffered a likely season-ending ankle injury last month in the Winnetonka Invitational, but she even made cameos against the Bears with two chances to serve only.
Ava Wheeler added 27 assists and five digs, while Jenna Wheeler led Platte County with nine digs.
“It was just a really good feeling to have all the girls that we’ve played with all middle school and high school together,” Johnson said. “It means a lot for us to all be together. It’s been very short.”
Platte County senior Ava Wheeler sets the ball against William Chrisman on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
William Chrisman led only once after the opening point of the second set and finished with just eight kills total. Johnson bested that by herself with a match-high nine in another dominant effort that also included 15 service points and five digs.
A heavy favorite, Platte County started strong and led 7-1 to start the match with Filger serving up two of her three aces in the opening run, which led to a timeout from the Bears. The Pirates extended the lead to 8-1 and then 12-2 before a dump kill from Ava Wheeler and an absolute missile of a kill from Johnson pushed the advantage to 15-4.
Johnson then went on one of multiple long service runs with back-to-back aces, and Jenna Wheeler finished off the opening set with three straight points, including a pair of aces to close it out.
“I thought we did really well working on things that we haven’t worked on (in matches) and throwing in things we haven’t done yet this year,” Johnson said.
After only briefly trailing in the second set, Johnson’s long service run helped Platte County pull away late. She had three aces, including two in a row again, but also provided multiple kills from deep attacks that pushed the Pirates to a 19-5 lead.
Platte County senior Jenna Wheeler hits a serve against William Chrisman on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Jenna Wheeler again finished off the second set with five straight service points, including three straight aces to start the push.
The second set also included the first appearance for Poldberg, who has missed the entirety of the current eight-match winning streak — minus the serving-only opportunities in this match — and is expected to be out the rest of the year. William Chrisman returned her first serve and ended up with a point after the ball went toward Poldberg on the back row, and she reacted late, heeding the instructions not to risk additional injury to her braced ankle.
Poldberg earned a spot as a first-year starter and had 86 kills and 35 blocks as a key contributor.
“It was a good opportunity for her to come in on her last night,” Johnson said.
The injury opened up more playing time for Brown, while sophomores Malin Cole (five kills, solo block) and Emma Macaluso (one kill) combine with Murray (eight kills) to form Platte County’s middle rotation. A third-year starter, Murray continues to be a dominant two-way force and has turned in the best season of her career to this point.
In the third set, William Chrisman came back from a big deficit to twice pull within two.
Platte County then forced a Bears timeout with a 15-10 lead, and Ava Wheeler continued what became a match-ending run out of the stoppage with two of her aces. Murray expanded the advantage to 19-10 with a kill. The Pirates went on to finish the match with all of Ava Wheeler’s 13 service points, second only to Johnson, with junior Karlee Riggs (six kills) and Murray providing the final attacks.
Platte County senior Avery Walter bumps a pass against William Chrisman on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County goes into the postseason looking to earn a third playoff appearance in the past four years. The Pirates have the No. 2 seed in the Class 4 District 8 bracket due to a loss against St. Pius X (22-6) in the Winnetonka Invitational after Poldberg’s injury and with the Wheeler sisters unavailable due to a family commitment. The Warriors were a Class 3 playoff team in the 2022 but moved up due to the state’s private-school points system that places school based on enrollment and recent success.
In 2020 and 2022, Platte County finished third place in Class 4, and the season in between saw the Pirates briefly bump up to Class 5 and lose in the District 8 championship game to Park Hill.
Platte County 3, Grain Valley 0
The Pirates leaned on Johnson (12 kills) and Riggs (11 kills) to buoy a 25-16, 25-18, 27-25 sweep Thursday in Grain Valley, the only team to beat Platte County in conference play over the past five seasons.
Susceptible to slow starts during the recent winning streak, Platte County instead started fast and then closed out a tight third set to avoid any hopes of allowing a comeback. The Pirates were also strong at the net on defense to limit Grain Valley’s offense, and Cole, Macaluso and Murray each contributed four block assists. Riggs and Johnson added two apiece.
In a matchup that featured long rallies, Johnson’s contributions also included a match-high 19 digs, while Ava Wheeler (17) and Jenna Wheeler (13) also finished in double-digits for Platte County. Both teams finished with 75 digs.
Ava Wheeler didn’t have an error in 107 setting attempts, finishing with 26, while Jenna Wheeler added seven assists when the Pirates were forced out of the typical offensive sequence. Murray (six kills), Cole (five kills) and Macaluso (four kills) also provided balance to the attack with a consistent presence in the middle.
