Platte County played seven matches this past week and lost just once, finding a way to decisively move back above .500 while navigating the busiest portion of the schedule. The Pirates went 3-1-1 and reached the semifinals of the Winnetonka Invitational on Saturday, capping a solid bounce back from the previous weekend’s difficult tournament in Lansing, Kansas.
Platte County junior Emma Macaluso tips a ball at the net against Fort Osage on Thursday night at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Entering the week, Platte County’s record sat at one win below .500 before recording a pair of important Suburban Conference White Division victories and then building more momentum.
Platte County went 2-0-1 in pool play at the Winnetonka Invitational and earned the No. 3 seed, then reached the semifinal with a possibly important first-round bracket sweep of Pembroke Hill. The Pirates lost for the second time this season to Truman in one of the two semifinals. The Patriots swept two tight sets 25-22, 25-22 in the best-of-three tournament format.
Truman limited Platte County’s office to just 20 kills — eight from senior Karlee Riggs and seven for freshman Miah Omoike. The Pirates committed eight attack and seven service errors, and junior Carissa Bacon led the two-setter rotation with 13 assists.
Platte County’s junior duo of Malin Cole (five) and Emma Macaluso (four) combined for nine block assists, while junior Gia Derose added 14 assists to lead a strong defensive effort that kept the match close.
Platte County senior Ava Moffitt hits the ball toward the next against Fort Osage on Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
However, the loss came after a strong run.
Platte County (11-7-1) opened with a two-set pool split with Smithville, which took the opener 25-18 but lost the second 25-19 in an evenly played match between Class 4 District 8 rivals. The Pirates again struggle don offense with 14 attack errors, and Riggs collected nearly half of their 22 kills, finishing with 10.
In all, Platte County committed 14 attack and three ballhandling errors between setters Bacon (12 assists) and senior Sailor Bane (eight assists). However, the Pirates kept the service game consistent, and Riggs, Bane and senior Daphne Churchill contributed an ace apiece compared to only two service errors.
From there, Platte County won the next three, starting with a 25-15, 25-16 sweep of Fort Osage just two days after the Pirates needed four sets to win a White Division matchup. Stats for Saturday’s match were not immediately available.
Platte County followed with a dominant 25-16, 25-19 victory over Hickman in the pool finale behind a balanced offense of Omoike (six kills), Riggs (five kills), senior Ava Moffitt and Macaluso (four kills apiece) and Cole (two kills). Bane recorded two of the Pirates’ five service aces and put up a team-high nine assists.
Platte County senior Karlee Riggs bumps the ball against Fort Osage on Thursday night at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Moffitt led Platte County with 11 digs, while Derose added eight and three assists from her liber spot.
Against Pembroke Hill, Riggs led all attackers with 14 kills in what ended up a 25-17, 25-11 sweep. Omoike added eight, and the defense keyed the margins of victory in both sets with Derose (17), Moffitt (11) and Bacon (10) all recording double-digit digs in just two sets. Bacon (14) and Bane (13) were nearly even in assists, while Derose added five as a result of some lengthy rallies.
Platte County 3, Fort Osage 1
The Pirates improved to 4-1 in conference play with a 25-12, 25-18, 21-25, 25-16 victory Thursday night at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Moffitt recorded career-highs of 10 kills and 22 digs to go with four service aces, while Riggs led Platte County with 19. Derose put up five of the Pirates’ 13 aces and added 21 digs and six assists.
Along with Moffitt and Derose, Bane (21 assists, eight digs) and Bacon have been key to rebuilding Platte County into a 6-2 rotation after the graduation of eight seniors. Bacon did not play on Thursday, and junior Ashleigh Cruce stepped in to add 13 assists, while Churchill (six digs) and sophomore Kate Brunner (two kills, one dig) received additional playing time, as well.
Platte County sophomore Kate Brunner spikes the ball against Fort Osage on Thursday night at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County continues to seek a sixth straight conference title and has now won three straight in White Division play after back-to-back five-set losses to Belton and Truman.
Platte County 3, William Chrisman 0
The Pirates snapped a four-match losing streak with a 25-6, 25-7, 25-5 blowout on the road Tuesday in Independence.
Derose finished with a career-high seven service aces and tied for the team lead with nine digs, while Moffitt (four), senior Rylee Pickett (three) and Churchill (two) also contributed to a total of 18. Riggs still managed 13 kills , while Cole and Macaluso added five apiece.
Churchill also finished with nine digs, and Riggs (seven), Moffitt (six) and Cruce (five) chipped in with Bacon out of the lineup for the first time this season and Bane also unavailable. Cruce led the way with 17 assists in her varsity debut.
