Park Hill South pulled the season sweep on its intra-district rival, winning 25-15, 25-14 on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at Park Hill South High School in Riverside, Mo.
Andi Elley led all attackers with eight kills in the third meeting of the season with Park Hill. Annika Welty added six and Bri Bartosh five for the Panthers, who won both Suburban League Red Division matches and one in tournament play against the Trojans this season.
Elley, a junior, also collected two of Park Hill South’s three blocks.
The win marked the eighth straight for Park Hill South since a loss and a tie in the Bronco Invitational last month, a streak that extended to nine later in the week with a sweep of Lee’s Summit West. The Panthers have an 8-0 record in Red Division play with matches remaining against Liberty and Truman. Park Hill senior Gabby Sweeney recorded six kills to lead the Trojans’ limited offense. They dropped to 3-5 in conference play with matchups against St. Joseph Central and Liberty remaining in the regular season.
Park Hill South 2, Lee’s Summit West 0
The Panthers took their final break from Red Division play Thursday, Oct. 8 and scored a 25-17m 25-23 win, improving to 23-3-1 on the season. They were scheduled to play the first of two league games to close the season Tuesday, Oct. 13 vs. Liberty, but the result was not available at The Citizen’s deadline.
Park Hill South needs two wins to secure an unbeaten Red Division season.
Against Lee’s Summit West, Elley led all attackers with 12 kills, while Bartosh provided three aces. Welty was efficient, converting eight of 11 attack attempts into kills.
Truman Tournament
Park Hill South advanced to the championship match Saturday, Oct. 10 in Independence, Mo., but the Panthers lost to Lee’s Summit North — their second defeat against the Broncos on the day and third on the season. Park Hill South dropped to 26-5-1 with all five losses to Lee’s Summit North or Lee’s Summit.
Lee’s Summit North also beat Park Hill South in the season opener.
In pool play, Park Hill South opened with a loss to Lee’s Summit North and then defeated Raymore-Peculiar and Platte County. The Panthers advanced to the championship with bracket wins against North Kansas City and Truman, before meeting up with the Broncos again.
Park Hill South (26-5-1) still owns the No. 1 seed for next week’s Class 4 District 15 tournament and received a first-round bye. The Panthers will play either North Kansas City or Winnetonka in a semifinal scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 20 in Liberty, Mo.
Park Hill went 0-1-2 in pool play and lost to Staley in the first round of bracket play. The Trojans have the No. 5 seed in the Class 4 District 16 tournament at Park Hill High School and play Kearney in the first round on Monday, Oct. 19 with the winner facing top-seeded Staley.
North Kansas City 2, Park Hill 1
The Trojans rallied to win the second set but lost 25-23, 23-25, 25-19 on Thursday, Oct. 8 at Park Hill High School in Kansas City, Mo.
In a balanced attack, Sweeney led with 11 kills while Sabrina Corley and Kai Welsh notched nine apiece. Brooke Albracht added eight. Kayla Huffman dished out 38 assists.
North Platte 2, Mid-Buchanan 0
The Panthers won a key battle of unbeatens in KCI Conference play Tuesday, Oct. 6 in Faucett, Mo. They ended up going 2-0 on the week, setting up one last big matchup for the conference crown.
Katie Heese recorded team-highs of seven kills and two blocks, while Maddie Lee tallied five digs in the 25-22, 25-21 sweep. Mid-Buchanan dropped to 4-1 in league play with the loss.
North Platte (6-0 KCI) had lost two of its previous four coming into the showdown. The Panthers were scheduled to play West Platte on Tuesday, Oct. 13 with the KCI title on the line, but the result was not available at deadline. West Platte needed a win to force a share of the title after losing to Mid-Buchanan earlier in the season. Mid-Buchanan needs a West Platte victory to earn part of a three-way share.
Last year, West Platte beat North Platte in the regular season finale to take the KCI title outright.
North Platte 2, Plattsburg 0
Holly Sanders recorded 14 service points in a quick 25-17, 25-9 sweep Thursday, Oct. 8 in Dearborn, Mo.
Emmie Lee and Heese recorded seven kills apiece with senior setter Kailey Pike providing 16 assists and a team-high six digs. Brittney Gerling tallied three blocks.
Riverside Tournament
North Platte won four of its first five matches but lost in three sets during the title game Saturday, Oct. 10 in Elwood, Kan. The Panthers improved to 25-5 entering Tuesday’s matchup with West Platte but couldn’t defend their Riverside title.
In pool play, North Platte swept St. Joseph Christian twice and swept Troy before losing to the Trojans in three in a second matchup despite 10 kills from Gerling. In the semifinals, the Panthers topped Mound City for the second time this season behind seven kills from Gerling, 21 assists from Pike and five blocks from Heese.
Jefferson County North ended up taking the championship match despite losing the first set. The Chargers won 14-25, 25-14, 25-14 despite 10 kills from Heese. Holly Sanders added eight digs in the loss — the second straight match she recorded the team-high.
West Platte 2, Lawson 0
The Bluejays recorded a second straight KCI sweep on Thursday, Oct. 8 in Weston, Mo. to set up the league showdown with North Platte scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13. The result was not available at The Citizen’s deadline.
To keep hope of a conference title alive, West Platte won three straight in KCI play, concluding with Lawson. Jordan Schultz provided eight service aces to go with five blocks in the win, while Ciara Davies led the Bluejays’ attack with six kills and four blocks. Patti Callahan also contributed five kills.
West Platte 2, Hamilton 0
Davies and Schultz led the way with five kills apiece in a sweep Tuesday, Oct. 6 in Hamilton, Mo. West Platte recorded 15 total aces, including three apiece for Callahan and Megan Kottman. Davies also added four blocks.