West Platte reached the championship game of the KCI Tournament and settled for second place after a loss to Lawson in the title match on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Mid-Buchanan High School in Faucett.
The Bluejays, a Class 1 semifinalist last year, went 4-1 on the day.
“The girls played extremely hard all day,” West Platte coach Amber Guthrie said. “It was our goal to get better in each game we played and I really believe we did that. The girls’ hard work pushed them through to the championship game against a tough Lawson team. The girls never gave up and fought to the end. I am very proud of their efforts on the day.”
Lawson prevailed 25-23 and 25-21 in the finals.
Sam Rotterman had six kills, while Tori Norman and Lexie Smither added five each for West Platte. Grace Stevens had eight digs, followed by five each from Gretchen Raney and Faith Stevens.
In other matches, West Platte (5-1) beat East Buchanan, 25-19 and 25-18, in the semifinals.
BREANNA CHEADLE/Special to the Citizen
West Platte’s Sam Rotterman (2) goes up for a kill in the KCI Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Mid-Buchanan High School. The Bluejays reached the title game and lost in two games to Lawson.
Faith Stevens had 17 assists, while Katy Tharp had nine kills. Norman and Smither added seven each. Smither led the team with nine digs, followed by Norman and Gracie Raney with seven apiece. Norman also contributed four aces.
In pool play, West Platte beat Mid-Buchanan, 27-25 and 25-23. Faith Stevens had 13 assists and 11 digs. Norman led the team with eight kills.
West Platte dominated Plattsburg, 25-16 and 25-10. Faith Stevens had 16 assists in the win. Rotterman had eight kills, while Norman had five kills and five digs.
The Bluejays opened with 25-10 and 27-25 win against Lathrop. Faith Stevens had 16 assists, while Norman had eight aces and four kills. Rotterman led West Platte with eight kills.
North Platte
The Panthers took sixth place in the KCI Tournament, going 2-2-1.
North Platte went 1-1-1 in pool play, losing to East Buchanan, 25-19 and 25-20. McKenzie Brockhoff had 11 kills and shared a team-high with four digs with Emily Westwood. Frankie Davis had 12 assists and two blocks.
The Panthers followed up with a tie with eventual tournament champion Lawson, winning the first set 25-21 and losing the second, 25-19. Brockhoff had eight kills and eight digs, while Davis had eight assists.
In the final pool play match, the Panthers topped Hamilton, 25-21 and 25-13. Stat leaders were Westwood with nine digs, Davis with nine assists and Brockhoff and Westwood with five kills.
The Panthers split the remaining two games. They beat Plattsburg, 25-12 and 25-10 and lost in three sets to Lathrop, 26-24, 26-28 and 20-25.
Brockhoff had 15 kills and 17 digs, as did Westwood and Davis against Lathrop. Westwood had 11 kills and Davis had 16 assists.
Against Plattsburg, Davis had a team-high in kills (six), aces (three) and assists (seven).
Other matches
West Platte 2, Orrick 0
The Bluejays opened the season at home on Thursday, Sept. 5 and defeated visiting Orrick, 25-8 and 25-16.
Faith Stevens had 16 assists, three digs and seven aces for West Platte. Tori Norman had eight kills and Lexie Smither added five. Katy Tharp had three blocks.
North Platte 2, Northland Christian 0
The Panthers got the season off on a good note with a 25-15 and 25-11 sweep over Northland Christian on Tuesday, Sept. 3 in Kansas City North.
Frankie Davis had nine assists and had seven digs, tying for a team-lead with McKenzie Brockhoff and Emily Westwood. Brockhoff added eight kills. Brianna Bridger and Alyssa Zion had two blocks each.