In the opening season tournament for the highly competitive KCI Conference, the West Platte volleyball team (2-2-1) finished in fourth place at East Buchanan High School on August 27.
The Lady Blue Jays started off strong with back-to-back sweeps in pool play against Plattsburg and North Platte. While it was a sweep, the matchup with the Lady Tigers was a tight one.
In the opening set of the fall, West Platte narrowly took down Plattsburg by a score of 25-23, then won set two slightly more comfortably, 25-18. In the final pool play match, the Lady Blue Jays took on the team that eliminated them from last postseason – and in the same gym – as the host team defeated West Platte in last season’s district championship match at East Buchanan High School.
West Platte’s Ahlanna Rutherford had 19 digs in the Lady Blue Jays final match of the KCI Tournament when East Buchanan won in three sets on August 27.
The Lady Blue Jays lost their first set of the season with a 25-17 score, then tied the match with a 25-19 victory. Maddison McMillan had 15 assists and Ahlanna Rutherford had nine digs in the match and West Platte headed into bracket play.
Lawson was the first foe awaiting West Platte and the Lady Cardinals swept by scores of 25-10 and 25-19. McMillan had 11 assists and five digs in the match and the Lady Blue Jays once again took on the Lady Bulldogs in the third-place match.
The final match of the long day was a barnburner, going into three sets with both teams splitting the opening two sets. East Buchanan barely snuck past West Platte in the third set by a score of 25-23 to give the Lady Blue Jays fourth place.
Rutherford finished the final match with 19 digs and two aces, while McMillan had a whopping 33 assists. West Platte will travel to Orrick (1-0) on September 1 for the next match.