The undefeated start to Platte County’s season came to an end in distressing fashion in Thursday’s home opener at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County senior Karlee Riggs hits a spike in a match with Truman on Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Truman came all the way back for a 20-25, 20-25, 25-19, 26-24, 15-13 victory in a Suburban Conference White Division matchup. The Pirates dropped to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in league play, receiving a quick introduction into the likely increased difficulty in this year’s slate.
Platte County dominated early behind the emerging complementary attacking duo of senior Karlee Riggs (24 kills) and freshman Miah Omoike (14 kills) but lost the momentum in the third set. Truman avoided the sweep but eventually trailed 20-18 late in the fourth, but the Pirates were unable to finish off the victory, taking a timeout after a 3-0 run put them behind.
In the end, Platte County couldn’t overcome 11 serve-receive errors and 10 service errors.
However, the defense played strong against Truman, collecting seven blocks. Platte County’s middle duo of juniors Malin Cole and Emma Macaluso finished with four each, while Omoike added one solo. The Pirates also put five players in double figures for digs, including an eye-popping 31 for junior Gia Derose followed by senior Ava Moffitt (19), junior Carissa Bacon (15), Riggs (15) and senior setter Salilor Bane (10).
Bane (28 assists) and Bacon (21 assists) continued to split setter duties for Platte County, which also received eight kills apiece for Macaluso and Moffitt.
Platte County junior Gia Derose hits a pass during a match with Truman on Thursday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Truman (2-0) competes in Class 5 and finished an impressive opening week with wins over Grain Valley and Platte County. Those two teams finished atop the White Division standings last year with Platte County earning a fifth straight conference title. The Suburban Conference reorganized this past offseason, and Truman, Fort Osage and Ruskin all moved down a tier when the league went from five divisions to four.
Coming off a third Class 4 playoff trip in four years, Platte County opened the season 4-0 after an undefeated run through a division of the Lincoln Northeast Blastoff Tournament plus a White Division over Ruskin on Tuesday. The Pirates return to action Tuesday at Belton before hosting Raytown on Thursday in two more conference matchups. They also have tournaments each of the next two weekends.
Platte County 3, Ruskin 0
The Pirates opened White Division play with a dominant 25-11, 25-7, 25-6 sweep Tuesday in Kansas City.
Ruskin managed little offense, and Platte County put up 14 service aces — six for senior Daphne Churchill, three each for seniors Rylee Pickett and Bane and two for Omoike. The Pirates were also able to spread out the offense, but Riggs, an all-state pick the past two seasons, did lead the way with 11. Bacon added seven to go with nine assists, while Omoike and Cole put up six apiece.
Moffitt (six), Derose (five) and Riggs (five) led Platte County in digs, while Bane contributed 21 of the team’s 33 assists.
