The Platte County Pirates’ volleyball team moved its record in the conference to 7-3 with wins over Grain Valley and Ruskin last week.
The Pirates beat the Grain Valley Eagles on the road last Tuesday, Sept. 24, in four sets 3-1.
Platte County freshman Miah Omoike. DENNIS SHARKEY/Citizen Photo
Platte County controlled most of the first set and never trailed, although Grain Valley tied the set three times early but could never get a lead. With the set tied at 7-7, Platte County went on a 5-0 scoring run. Grain Valley got to within two scores at 13-11 before the Pirates pulled away and won the set 25-18.
The Pirates built up a lead of 13-6 in the second set but battled back to take a 19-18 late in the second set. It was the first time the Eagles had led in the entire match. Grain Valley led briefly, but the Pirates fought back to tie the set at 21-21 but couldn’t carry the momentum forward to a lead. The Pirates battled back again, facing set point to tie the match at 24-24. Platte County faced set point again but got a side out to stay alive at 25-25. However, the Eagles got the next two points to even the match 1-1.
Platte County junior Carrisa Bacon. DENNIS SHARKEY/Citizen Photo
The third set was similar to the second set in that Platte County was able to build up a 13-6 lead, only this time, they maintained the lead until late when the Eagles were able to tie the set at 19-19. The Eagles eventually took the lead at 22-21, and that’s when the Pirates called a timeout to slow things down. The move worked as a bad serve by the Eagles gave Platte County the tie and side out, which the Pirates turned into a 4-0 run to close out the set and take the 2-1 lead. The Pirates edged the Eagles 26-24 in the fourth set to avoid a fifth set for the 3-1 win.
Senior Karlee Riggs led the attack with 20 kills, followed by freshman Miah Omokie with 11 kills. Senior Ava Moffitt and junior Malin Cole each had six kills. Juniors Carrisa Bacon and Emma Macaluso each had three kills. Junior Giavanna DeRose led the team with three aces while serving, followed by Moffitt and fellow senior Sailor Bane with two aces. Omokie led the defense at the net with five blocks, followed by Bacon and Riggs, who had three blocks, and Macaluso, who had two blocks. Bane led the team with 19 assists, followed by Bacon with 15 assists and Derose with six assists.
Platte County junior Gia DeRose. DENNIS SHARKEY/Citizen Photo
In the backcourt, DeRose led the Pirates with 25 digs and 40 serves received, followed by Bane with 18 digs and Riggs and Moffitt with 16 digs.
The Pirates beat Ruskin 3-0 at home on Thursday, Sept. 26, by scores of 25-7, 25-10, and 25-8.
Riggs led the team with 13 kills, followed by Macaluso with eight kills and sophomore Kate Brunner, who had seven kills. Omokie and Cole each had six kills for the Pirates. Bane led the team with 18 assists, followed by Bacon, who had 14 assists, and DeRose, who had eight assists. Cole and Malin each had two blocks at the net, and sophomore Ashleigh Cruce led the team with five aces while serving. Senior Rylee Pickett had two aces for Platte County.
In the backcourt, DeRose led the team with 19 digs and 13 serves received.
The road gets a lot tougher this week with conference matchups versus Truman on the road on Tuesday and at home versus Belton on Thursday. Platte County has already lost to both teams this season.
