At the point when a season ends with the next loss, Platte County faced a potentially interesting rematch in the Class 4 District 8 semifinals.
Platte County senior Tatianna Murray hits a spike during a Class 4 District 8 semifinal against Smithville on Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Smithville traveled across Highway 92 on Thursday with a chance to play spoiler at Pirate Fieldhouse. Instead, Platte County trailed only once and turned in a dominant 25-15, 25-14, 25-12 sweep to advance back to the championship match for a fourth straight year. When these same teams met less than a month earlier, the Pirates lost the first set but came back for a mostly tight 25-27, 25-22, 25-23, 25-8 victory.
This time, Smithville only briefly led at 1-0 to start the second set and could not keep pace with a relentless effort.
“I think it was more intensity,” said Platte County senior Tatianna Murray, who finished with a match-high 14 kills in another standout effort in attack. “We had a student section this time; we came out with a lot of energy. Since it’s districts, we want to go to state. That’s our mindset is getting to state and getting through these teams.
“With Smithville, we know how they play and watch film on them. We adjusted to what they do.”
Platte County junior Karlee Riggs hits a spike during a Class 4 District 8 semifinal against Smithville on Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Winners of 10 straight, second-seeded Platte County (21-7-2) seems to have hit optimal form with a senior-laden roster.
The win against Smithville showed off the full depth of potential for a group seeking a third playoff appearance in four seasons, which includes Class 4 state third-place finishes in 2022 and 2020. The Pirates returned the majority of last year’s starters but reshuffled a few roles with senior Ava Wheeler notably taking over setter duties and Murray moving to the outside after two years as a versatile middle hitter/blocker.
In addition, Platte County lost senior Cierra Poldberg of the season to an ankle injury during September’s Winnetonka Invitational, pushing sophomores Malin Cole and Emma Macaluso into high-profile and key roles in the middle of defense. The Pirates lost to St. Pius X in straight sets to end a shorter-than-normal trip to that tournament with Poldberg out and Ava Wheeler and senior libero Jenna Wheeler also unavailable for that matchup.
Platte County senior Ava Filger bumps a pass during a Class 4 District 8 semifinal against Smithville on Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
St. Pius X (26-6) — a Class 3 playoff qualifier in 2022 that moved up this year as a result of the state’s private-school success multiplier — earned the No. 1 seed in Class 4 District 8 by virtue of the prior win and also advanced to Tuesday’s district title game with a Thursday semifinal win, 3-1 over Kearney. However, the rematch with Platte County expects to look much different this time around.
“I think that we have another opportunity and now that we have enough players and all of our players well and almost healthy — besides Cierra — I think we do have a chance,” Murray said. “I think that we do have a chance … as long as we come out with a lot energy, positivity spreading all around and if one person is down, lift them up.”
Platte County entered this season with an experienced and seasoned defensive backline. The group shined against Smithville on Thursday with Jenna Wheeler (17 digs) and fellow seniors Ava Filger (12 digs) and Avery Walter (seven digs) frequently forcing long rallies.
Platte County sophomore Emma Macaluso watches the ball roll over the net after her block during a Class 4 District 8 semifinal against Smithville on Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
That allowed Ava Wheeler to spread out 39 assists across Platte County’s attacking front that heavily featured Murray and junior Karlee Riggs (12 kills) and Kendall Johnson (10 kills plus 15 digs) — the latter two returning Missouri Volleyball Coaches Association Class 4 all-state performers last season. Macaluso added seven kills from the middle as she continued her development from reserve to trusted starter.
While having received spot duty in previous seasons, Ava Wheeler also seems to have hit her stride as the featured setter after being a multifaceted and important contributor in her first three seasons.
“She’s doing a really good job with feeding the hot player,” Platte County coach Kaitlyn Donovan said. “It seemed like Tati was really on tonight; Karlee Riggs was on tonight. At any point when we have a hitter on, (Ava Wheeler) does a great job of getting those hitters the ball and mixing up those sets and locations on the net.”
Ava Wheeler keyed a fast start that seemingly decimated Smithville’s confidence.
Platte County senior Avery Walter watches her pass during a Class 4 District 8 semifinal against Smithville on Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County raced to a 7-0 lead behind her service. The Pirates opened with her solo block from Cole — one of a team-high five that included four assists to go with three kills — plus one of Ava Wheeler’s team-best three aces and a kill from Murray. They led by double digits for most of the first set with Macaluso supplying two late kills and Walter serving up the opening set point.
“It feels good to get a start on it and get ahead,” Murray said.
After the brief one-point lead, Smithville hung close to start the second set, but Johnson served up her only two aces back-to-back to finally provide some breathing room.
Platte County led 7-4 at that point and eventually saw the advantage trimmed to 10-9. Murray started to take over from there with multiple kills during an answer of four straight points, and she helped the Pirates close on a 15-5 run that gave the Pirates a 2-0 set advantage.
“I do think I know when I’m in the zone,” Murray said. “When I’m in the zone, I’m just so locked in, and I’m focused on making smart decisions and use my open spots and use the techniques you use in drills and stuff like that and then find their openings to score.”
Starting the third with four straight points, Platte County did not trail again, and one of Riggs’ kills pushed the lead to 12-5. The Pirates went up double-digits at 19-9 during a service run for Filger — one of three players to have double-digit service points along with Ava Wheeler (13) and Johnson (12).
Platte County senior Kendall Johnson hits a serve against Smithville in a Class 4 District 8 semifinal Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County finished with eight aces total. Filger, Walter and senior Kenadi Brown added one apiece in what became another well-rounded performance typical of the recent stretch of play that pushed the Pirates to a seventh-straight 20-win season.
Having won at least 22 in each of the previous six, Platte County needs to avenge the prior loss to St. Pius X on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse to reach that number again.
“”I feel like we’re kind of getting the full effect right now,” Donovan said. “I just feel like we’re trusting each other; we’re meshing really well. Defense is picking up everything. If we limit our errors and let the other teams make mistakes, we’ll be fine.”
Platte County 3, Kansas City East 0
Murray supplied a match-high 13 kills in the Pirates’ swift 25-7, 25-1, 25-11 sweep of the district’s No. 7 seed Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Johnson, Riggs and Cole all added six kills apiece, while Macaluso contributed four to help Platte County to an astounding 63.2 kill percentage. The Pirates also served up 18 total aces — eight from Ava Wheeler, three each for Walter and sophomore Gia DeRose, two for Filger and one for both Brown and Jenna Wheeler. Ava Wheeler ended up with 19 total service points and 27 assists.
