Fittingly, Platte County and Park Hill continued their rivalry with a three-set finale to the Platte County Invitational Championship.
Repeatedly in tight matches during recent years, Platte County forged a comeback in the first set, lost decisively in the second and held off charges throughout the third of a 25-23, 18-25, 25-21 victory Saturday, September 29 at Platte County High School. Pirates’ starters Karoline Kilkenny, juniors Bryn McGehe and Aly Anderson, and sophomore Kate Brown and even senior reserve Riley Stehlik all took their turn coming up in big moments in the decisive race to 25 points.
“It wouldn’t have been disappointing if we hadn’t (gone three sets), but it was definitely expected,” Platte County senior setter Ashley Bell said.
Added Platte County coach Kaitlyn Donovan, “At any point in time during a match, any one can be on. We were lucky that we had three or four hitters on in that last set there.”
ROSS MARTIN/Special to the Citizen
The Platte County volleyball team celebrated winning the Platte County Invitational by doing a line dance to Cotton Eye Joe.
Platte County (14-4-1 entering a Tuesday, October 1 matchup with Winnetonka) never trailed in the third set, breaking free from a 15-15 tie to seemingly take control. Park Hill ran off four straight to close within 21-20, but Anderson responded with a kill to return service to the Pirates.
Bell had two service points with kills for Anderson and McGehe to give Platte County a first match point. Park Hill avoided the initial threat, but a return error gave Pirates the win and set off a suddenly traditional celebration. The players gathered on their half of the court and did a line dance to the 1990s dance hit “Cotton Eye Joe.”
Platte County debuted the performance on an impromptu whim after winning last year’s Platte County Invitational. The Pirates reprised it this season with perhaps a little more forethought.
“This morning, we (practiced), and then we were all kind of surprised we still remembered it,” Bell said. “It was fun though.”
In a matchup of the two top seeds from morning pool play, Platte County jumped to leads of 12-9 and 14-10 in the opening set but trailed the majority of the way. The Pirates needed a 4-0 run that started with an ace from Brown to draw even with Park Hill at 21-21.
From there, the match was tied at 22 and 23. Platte County finished on a 3-0 run with Park Hill coach Lindsay Hood taking a timeout at set point, but the Trojans immediately committed a return error on a rally to drop the first set.
Platte County led 2-1 in the second behind a pair of kills for McGehe, but Park Hill followed with a 7-0 run to take the lead for good. Donovan took a timeout down 6-2, and freshman Aisha Aiono immediately provided an emphatic block to continue the momentum.
McGehe finally stopped the surge with another kill, and Stehlik had an ace to draw Platte County within 10-7. Park Hill answered with a 5-1 run, and junior Kristen Birmingham (12 kills), Aisha Aiono (eight blocks, six kills) and junior Alie Aiono (seven kills, three blocks) controlled the net throughout to keep the Pirates out of sync.
“I don’t know what really happened,” Donovan said. “We hadn’t played a good second set all tournament, so that was our goal was to play a good second set. Obviously, we didn’t do that. I feel like we came out just a little timid for some reason. We were tipping a lot more, but Park Hill puts on a really, really big block and does a good job of pressing over the net.”
The third set opened with ties at 1, 2, 3 and 4, but Platte County avoided a carryover and took command with a 3-0 run. Kilkenny’s kill made it 7-4 and prompted a timeout, and the lead would hit 8-4 before the match again tightened up.
Alie Aiono had a kill to bring Park Hill within 13-12, and the Trojans would be within one four more times along with the final tie at 15 but couldn’t break an experienced Platte County roster boasting seven seniors.
“I challenged them in the huddle before that third set,” Donovan said. “I told them, ‘We’ve got to come out swinging. The first seven points will probably dictate how the entire match is going to go.’ I felt like those first seven points were good for us. A few times there in the middle we got a little lackadaisical and lost our focus, but we ended the set really well — stayed aggressive.”
A kill and ace from Stehlik made it 17-15, and Park Hill again pulled within one before a kill from Kilkenny and an ace from Brown prompted a timeout at 20-16. Kilkenny answered with another kill to make it a five-point lead that still wasn’t totally safe.
Platte County’s balance won out. Anderson had 13 kills, Brown six, Stehlik five and Kilkenny four with Bell dishing out 21 assists. Brown had three aces and Stehlik two, but McGehe was the star, contributing 21 more assists and putting down a match-high 16 kills.
“We’re just meshing really well right now,” Bell said. “Bryn was definitely on fire, and I’m confident in her as a hitter. On big points, I knew she wanted the ball so I did my best to get it to her.”
Bell’s service and the net play of Anderson and McGehe provided Platte County with the final surge of the match in an exhausting finish to a long day of tournament play. The Pirates hadn’t gone more than two sets since besting Park Hill in a unique best-of-five sets matchup earlier in the season.
The relief of the players manifested in big smiles while “Cotton Eye Joe” blared over the gym speakers.
“I don’t know how many times I looked during the match and I see girls either yawning on the court or on the bench, but as soon as it’s over, we’re ready to dance,” Donovan quipped. “I’m glad they brought their energy for the dance moves.”
Platte County went 2-0-1 in the Orange Pool with sweeps of Summit Christian and Barstow. The Pirates survived a split with St. Joseph Central to earn the top seed and then swept Smithville and Winnetonka in the bracket to reach the final.
Park Hill (12-5-2 entering a Tuesday, October 1 match with Staley) also went 2-0-1 in the Black Pool with a split against Smithville and sweeps of William Chrisman and Winnetonka. The Pirates swept Barstow and Smithville to earn the rematch with Platte County.