Park Hill South scored an important revenge victory in pool play at the Lee’s Summit North Bronco Invitational but couldn’t win a quick rematch in the semifinals Saturday, Sept. 16 in Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Going 2-0-1 in pool, Park Hill South swept Liberty and Pleasant Hill while tying Lee’s Summit. A win over Lee’s Summit West put the Panthers in the title match, but this time, Pleasant Hill won in straight sets on the way to the team title.
Park Hill South also lost in the semifinals to Pleasant Hill last year.
Having lost to Liberty four days earlier, Park Hill South won the rematch 25-23, 25-22. Annika Welty — a senior all-state middle hitter for the Panthers — totaled nine kills, while freshman Abbie Day (six) and junior Michelle Dvorak (four) were responsible for the rest of the attack.
Day also had two service aces, and freshman Arley Anderson finished with 15 of Park Hill South’s 19 assists.
Park Hill South won the opening set against Lee’s Summit but ended up with a tie. The match came five days after Lee’s Summit won a matchup between the two in three sets.
In the first of what ended up two matchups on the day, Park Hill South dominated Pleasant Hill at the net. Welty had 11 kills while Dvorak had nine, and the Panthers totaled nine blocks.
Pleasant Hill had 12 attack errors and only recorded kills on 25 percent of 52 total attempts.
Arley Anderson had 24 assists, while Kacy Lewallen — a junior who had been splitting time at setter for Park Hill South — came up with a team-high 11 digs. The Panthers won 25-17, 25-14.
After sweeping Lee’s Summit West, Park Hill South matched up again with Pleasant Hill, which played stronger defense in a 25-17, 25-18 win. Welty had 12 kills, while Dvorak added five in the loss for the Panthers, who dropped to 11-4-1 overall.
Liberty 2, Park Hill South 0
The Panthers were unable to keep up in a 25-17, 25-18 loss Tuesday, Sept. 12 that ended a lengthy Suburban Conference Red Division winning streak.
Welty accounted for seven of Park Hill South’s 13 kills in a disappointing showing for the offense. Dvorak added four blocks, while Arley Anderson (12), Lewallen (12) and Day (10) all finished in double digit digs for the Panthers.
Park Hill South had won 23 straight Red Division matches, taking back-to-back league titles, since an Oct. 14, 2014 three-set loss at Liberty.
Park Hill South 2, Truman 0
The Panthers came right back and improved to 4-1 in Red Division matches this season with a tight sweep Thursday, Sept. 14 at Park Hill South High School in Riverside, Mo.
Welty ended up with half of Park Hill South’s eight kills. She also came up with three blocks, while Day had both of the Panthers’ service aces.
After a nonconference match with Kearney on Tuesday, Sept. 19 (result not available at deadline), Park Hill South returns to league action Thursday, Sept. 21 against Liberty North.