After a ceremony honoring the seven seniors and then the same group singing the national anthem, Platte County didn’t start with the emotional effort expected in one of the final home games of the season.
Platte County players celebrate the final point of a three-set sweep of Raytown on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Raytown provided an early punch and then mounted a late rally that ultimately fell short in the first set Tuesday night at Pirate Fieldhouse. Platte County responded with a senior night sweep of 25-20, 25-16, 25-13 behind 10 kills from Emma Macaluso and 12 total service aces in an oscillating performance that featured stretches of dominance and wobbly moments.
Platte County’s deep senior class of Macaluso, Malin Cole, Gia DeRose, Carissa Bacon, Evelyn Reith, Ashleigh Cruce and Kya Bridges played one of the final home matches of their career, now prepared to confront a uniquely difficult postseason path.
“It was definitely a crazy experience because I was always looking at everybody else’s senior nights, and I was just like, wow, I can’t imagine when this will be me. Then it was actually me, and I was on the court walking with my parents,” said Macaluso, a starter in the middle since taking over the spot late in her sophomore season. “Four years have gone by. I can’t imagine all of the years I’ve just done. Wow, thinking about every point and every match leading up to all the success.”
Platte County senior Kya Bridges goes up for an attack against Raytown on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Entering off an exciting tiebreaker win over rival Kearney, Platte County (17-9-2) didn’t hold a lead in the first set until going up 4-3 when a service run from Bacon (five kills, three aces and 18 assists) helped open up a five-point advantage.
Raytown didn’t go away and eventually closed within 16-15 before forging a tie at 18-18 after the Pirates were called for a second rotational alignment violation — both resulting in free points. The Blue Jays came out of a timeout and even took the lead back by one point.
Platte County then closed on a 7-1 run that included an important block split between junior Emma Brinkman (four kills) and sophomore Charlotte Schlake, who also contributed one of her eight kills. Macaluso then sent back the final point with a two-handed stuff at the net credited as a kill.
“Since we sang the national anthem as well, we were very excited and a little bit nervous, too,” Macaluso said. “We took definitely a turning point after the first couple of points, and we finished off that first set winning. But definitely was a little bit more tough to get focused in than a normal game, yeah.”
Platte County also started slow in the second set but eventually stretched a lead to 15-7 on a strong service run from Ashleigh Cruce, who tied for the team lead at 10 service points with sophomore setter Ella Cruce and Bacon. The Pirates’ advantage hit 21-12 on one of Bridges’ two kills.
Platte County sophomore Charlotte Schlake spikes the ball against Raytown on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Raytown showed flashes, and after falling behind 6-0 to start the third set on a run from Ella Cruce that included two of her team-high four aces, the Blue Jays ran off six unanswered to create a final tie. Bacon answered with a kill, and the Pirates mostly went on cruise control thanks to a diverse offensive effort that included nine kills apiece for Cole and junior Kate Brunner, while the two-setter rotation of Ella Cruce (19 assists) and Bacon almost evenly split ball-handling.
Cole continues to thrive as a third-year starter moving from the middle to the outside as one of the focal points of Platte County’s rebuilt offense. Schlake looks more and more comfortable in increased opportunities next to Macaluso with fellow sophomore Miah Omoike continuing to miss time due to a lingering shoulder injury.
“Just trusting each other,” Macaluso said of the key in adapting this year’s lineup to changing personnel. “Since we’ve had this core group of seniors, we’ve definitely been able to build a lot with the seven of us here. Definitely with Charlotte, she’s shown up. She’s killing it.”
DeRose, a second-year starter and returning all-state libero, finished with a team-high six digs with Platte County’s defense ceding a lot of strong attacks at the net that limited effective returns. The Pirates’ have also watched Ashleigh Cruce (three digs) carve out more time in the defensive back row to mostly split time with Reith (one ace and one dig).
Platte County senior Ashleigh Cruce goes down for a dig against Raytown on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
The seven seniors have been part of Platte County’s active streak of three straight Class 4 playoff appearances that have been part of a broader stretch that included three trips to the state semifinals in three of the past five years. The Pirates were third in 2020 and 2022 and fourth in 2024.
However, Platte County moves back up to Class 5 this season, having also been there in 2021 when the Pirates missed the playoffs after a five-set loss to Park Hill in the district title game.
Platte County 3, Kearney 2
The Pirates survived with a comeback 20-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 15-12 five-set victory Monday at Kearney.
A dominant effort from the trio of Cole (team-high 15 kills), Bacon (14) and Brunner (14) keyed a strong offensive effort from Platte County, which also received four service aces from Ashleigh Cruce. Schlake’s run of strong play and comfort in the middle showed with five block assists, while Brinkman, Cole and Bacon added two apiece for the Pirates.
Cole also contribute three aces.
Platte County dropped the opening set but eventually avenged a 2-0 loss to Kearney during bracket play of the Winnetonka Invitational in September. The Pirates were balanced throughout the match with Ella Cruce (22), Bacon (18) and DeRose (10) all reaching double-digit assists.
Platte County senior libero Gia DeRose hits a pass against Raytown on Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
DeRose again paced the defense with 25 digs, her second-best statistical performance of the season.
Platte County 3, William Chrisman 0
The Pirates improved to 8-4 in conference play with a 25-13, 25-16, 25-11 sweep Thursday in Independence.
Bacon finished with 11 kills and nine assists, while Platte County racked up 14 service aces — half coming from Ella Cruce. Reith added two and eight service points, while DeRose, Ashleigh Cruce, Cole, Bacon and sophomore Mike Buntz each finished with one. DeRose ended up in double figures for digs with 16.
In addition to 19 service points, Ella Cruce led Platte County’s two-setter rotation with 20 assists, and Macaluso (eight kills), Brunner (seven kills) and Cole (six kills) were also part of a balanced attack. The Pirates close conference play against Fort Osage and Grain Valley, which each won the first meeting between the teams this season.
Platte County needs three more wins to reach 20 for a ninth consecutive season. The Pirates open Class 5 District 8 play as the No. 6 seed and face Liberty North in the first round on Thursday, October 23 in Liberty.
