ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Based on records alone, Park Hill was the underdog in its Class 4 District 16 showdown with St. Joseph Central on Monday, Oct. 22.
The Trojans, the third seed, were facing an Indians squad with 21 wins, the third most in the district.
However, Park Hill’s rigorous schedule and a tough Suburban Conference Gold Division had them ready for the postseason.
Park Hill’s Sabrina Lane prepares to dig the ball during a match against St. Joseph Central on Monday, Oct. 22 in the Class 4 District 16 volleyball tournament in St. Joseph, Mo.
The Trojans swept the Indians in two sets, 25-17 and 25-22 at the Central Coliseum, improving to 12-17-3.
“We go against tough teams every single game,” Park Hill coach Lindsey Hood said. “We didn’t expect it to be any easier. We knew it would be a fight and we have Park Hill South next, which will be another tough fight.”
Sabrina Lane and Alie Aiono helped the Trojans take an early 10-5 on the Indians (21-11).
Central surged back and pulled within 16-15, but the Trojans didn’t panic. A series of miscues by the Indians followed and Trojans went up 22-17, forcing a timeout by the foe.
The respite didn’t work as the Trojans scored the next three points to win.
The second set saw the Indians take the early lead, but a kill by Lane gave the Trojans the first lead, 8-7. Back-to-back kills by Hannah Graves bumped the lead to four, part of a 7-0 burst.
Park Hill never trailed from there, though Central tied the set at 18. The Trojans scored the next four to take command.
“We really need a win and needed go come out and keep playing,” said Lane, who shared the team-high in kills at 9 with Graves. “The record looks better than ours, I know we play a lot of tough teams. I’m excited we won. It is a good upset, especially with a big crowd that came out.”
Kori Smith had 14 digs, while Lane and Alyssa Ramos both had 10. Aliyah Lyons added 15 assists.
Park Hill South 2, North Kansas City 0
The Panthers, the No. 2 seed, rolled to a sweep over the Hornets in the opening round of the district tournament, winning 25-7 and 25-13.
Park Hill South scored the first six points before a return error gave North Kansas City its first point. The Hornets only had consecutive points once, pulling within 19-7, but the next six points went to the Panthers — aided by two kills from Alex Dvorak during the run.
Park Hill South used a balanced attack on offense with Abbie Day, Michelle Dvorak, Rachel Francis and Lauren Leners recording at least one kill.
Park Hill South (23-10) fell behind early in the second set, but once the Panthers took the lead at 9-8, they didn’t look back. Northtown pulled within one, 11-10, but Park Hill South scored the next seven to take command.
Arley Anderson, who had 21 assists, bumped the ball over the net for the final point of the match.
Alex Dvorak had eight kills, while Michelle Dvorak had seven for the Panthers. Kacy Lewallen had 11 digs.
Park Hill South will played Park Hill in one semifinal, while top-seeded Platte County played Staley in the other. Results were not available by press time.
Other games
Platte County 2, Winnetonka 0
The Pirates closed out the regular season with a sweep over the Griffins, 25-21 and 25-19, on Thursday, Oct. 18, to finish with a 27-4-2 mark heading into districts.
Aly Anderson had 11 digs and added seven kills, while Bryn Mcgehe had seven kills and two aces — sharing a team lead with Gracie Acker.
Carli Hensley recorded 20 digs and Ashley Bell had 16 assists.
Park Hill South 2, St. Joseph Central 0
The Panthers closed out the regular season with a two-game sweep over the Indians at home on Thursday, Oct. 18.
Park Hill South won the Suburban Conference Red Division game 25-13 and 25-12.
Arley Anderson dished out 20 assists, while Lauren Leners had a team high seven kills. Kacy Lewallen had 15 digs and Abbie Day added 14. Rachel Francis added four blocks.
Park Hill South went 22-10 in the regular season.
Kearney 2, Park Hill 0
The Trojans were swept in the regular-season finale on Wednesday, Oct. 17 in Kearney.
The loss dropped Park Hill to 0-8 this year in road games.
Park Hill had stats leaders in double figures in both digs and assists. Kori Smith paced the Trojans with 20 digs, while Sabrina Lane had 15 and freshman Valencia Zamora had 10. Landyn Powell had 13 assists, one more than Aliyah Lyons.
Kristen Birmingham had nine kills and Hannah Graves added eight for Park Hill, which was 11-17-3 in the regular season.
Ray-Pec 2, Park Hill 1
The Trojans won the first set, 25-20, but then lost 27-25 and 25-21 in a Suburban Conference Gold Division game on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
Kristen Birmingham had 11 kills, while Sabrina Lane, Hannah Graves and Rachel Pella had eight each for the Trojans’ offense. Pella added five blocks, while Lane had a pair of aces.
Kori Smith had 18 digs, while Alyssa Ramos and Lane each had 12. Landyn Powell (19) and Aliyah Lyons (12) finished in double figures in assists.
Platte County 2, Grandview 0
The Pirates picked up a quick victory against the Bulldogs on Tuesday, Oct. 16, winning 25-9 and 25-9.
Ashley Bell had 14 assists and three aces, while Bryn Mcgehe had eight digs and six kills. Aly Anderson paced the Pirates with nine kills, while Harper Sinclair joined Mcgehe with six.
Park Hill South 2, Lee’s Summit 1
The Panthers won the first and third set to pick up a Suburban Conference Red Division win on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
Park Hill South won 25-16, lost 25-19 and then won 25-17 to down the Tigers.
Michelle Dvorak had 10 kills, while Alex Dvorak had five blocks. Arley Anderson had 29 assists, while the team had 95 digs and three players finished in double figures: Kacy Lewallen (28), Abbie Day and Adah Anderson (16).