The annual daunting trip to the Lansing Invitational this past weekend provided the expected stiff competition and another chance for a gelling roster to face some adversity.
Platte County senior Karlee Riggs sends the ball over the net against Raytown on Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County went 0-4 with all losses to out-of-state competition Saturday at Lansing High School in Lansing, Kansas. The Pirates went to three sets against the hosts, Spring Hill and Shawnee Heights while Blue Valley Southwest earned a sweep.
All four opponents were Kansas schools.
Platte County has now dropped six of its past seven after a 5-0 start but plenty of optimism should remain despite an unrelenting regular season schedule. In the opener against Lansing, Pirates senior all-state outside hitter Karlee Riggs recorded 15 kills in a 20-25, 25-21, 25-21 win for the Lions. She continues to lead a developing attack that also features promising freshman Miah Omoike, senior Ava Moffitt and junior Carissa Bacon (three kills apiece) and the junior middle duo of Malin Cole (five kills) and Emma Macaluso (four kills).
In the loss, Platte County also put up eight service aces with Bacon and Riggs recording two apiece. Bacon and senior Sailor Bane continue to split setter duties with the duo combining for 26 assists against Lansing. Bacon held a slight edge with 14.
A continued bright spot on Platte County’s defense continues to be junior libero Gia Derose, who put up 29 digs (just two short of a career-high she set just over a week earlier against Truman, while Bane added 13 and Riggs 10. However, the Pirates only recorded two blocks against Lansing’s attack, which posted a kill percentage of 29. Both were solo efforts from Omoike.
Platte County junior Gia Derose bumps a pass against Raytown on Thursday night at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County also took the first set against Spring Hill, which eventually came back for a 18-25, 26-24, 28-26 victory. Riggs and Omoike posted 10 kills apiece for the Pirates, who recorded only five service aces. Riggs led the way with two.
Facing a strong attack again, Derose led the defense with 26 digs, while Moffitt, Bacon and Riggs contributed 11 apiece for Platte County, which also finished with five blocks. Macaluso recorded an assist on three of those, while Riggs, Omoike and Cole added two apiece.
Bane contributed 22 assists to Bacon’s 14 for Platte County, but only six players had at least one kill — six each for Moffitt and Cole, four for Macaluso and three for Bacon.
Blue Valley Southwest ended up with a 25-20, 25-23 sweep to finish pool play. Platte County finished with a kill percentage of 33 but also committed seven attack errors. Riggs led the Pirates in kills with seven, while Omoike added six and Bacon five.
Omoike added Platte County’s only service ace and led the Pirates with four blocks, while Derose put up 13 digs.
Platte County’s tournament ended with a third instance of winning the first set only to lose the match.
Shawnee Heights came back and finished strong in a 24-26, 25-22, 25-12 victory. The Pirates struggled late and committed 21 attack errors, while Omoike (10 kills), Riggs (eight kills) and Macaluso (six kills) led the offense. However, the trio also accounted for 10 of the errors.
Bane supplied a team-high 21 assists, topped Platte County’s service with a pair of aces and led in digs with 18. Moffitt (15), Riggs (15) and Derose (11) also finished in double figures for the Pirates.
Platte County junior Emma Macaluso tips a ball over the net against Raytown on Thursday night at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County now returns focus to Suburban Conference White Division play having started just 2-2 in defense of the league title while adding three new opponents to the slate. The Pirates play at William Chrisman on Tuesday and host Fort Osage on Thursday before finishing out tournament play in Saturday’s Winnetonka Invitational.
Platte County 3, Raytown 0
The Pirates were able to snap a two-match skid of five-set losses Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse in a White Division matchup.
Riggs finished with 10 kills in Platte County’s 25-10, 25-18, 25-11 sweep, while adding three service aces — tied for the team-high with Derose and Bane. The Pirates had 12 total service aces in three sets, while Moffitt led a lighter defensive effort against an overmatch attacked with eight digs. Bacon added seven and Derose six.
Platte County went deeper into the lineup with Macaluso (eight kills), Omoike (six kills), Moffitt (four kills), Bacon (four kills), Cole (three kills), sophomore Kate Brunner (two kills) and Bane (one kill) all factoring into the attack. Omoike added a block assist on both of the stops up front for the Pirates.
With the win, Platte County drew back level at 2-2 in conference play after back-to-back losses.
Platte County senior Sailor Bane goes up to set the ball against Raytown on Thursday night at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Belton 3, Platte County 2
Ending up dropping back-to-back five-set matches, Platte County couldn’t close out Belton in a 25-19, 15-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-10 conference loss in Belton.
Platte County started the season 5-0 but had just dropped a conference matchup with Truman five days earlier after winning the first two sets before the Patriots took the final three with a spirited comeback. This time around, Platte County lost the first set but had a chance to close out the match in the fourth before decisively losing the tiebreaker to 15 in the fifth.
Riggs led Platte County’s offense with 16 kills, while Macaluso set a career-high with 10. Omoike also added 10 while contributing a match-high eight blocks (one solo).
Platte County also finished with nine service aces — four for Riggs and two each for Moffitt and Bacon, who also matched Bane with both setters contributing 19 assists. The defense also continued to feature balance with Derose and Moffitt tying for the team lead at 18 digs, while Bacon (13), Riggs (12) and Bane (11) also finished in double figures.
