The Lady Pirates celebrate in the district semifinal win over Smithville on Oct. 19.
PLATTE CITY – This year’s senior class has reached the district championship each year since being in high school as the Platte County volleyball team (21-7-2) advanced past Smithville (12-14) in the Class 4 District 8 Semifinals on Oct. 19.
Each of the last four years, Platte County has played in a district championship, bringing home a title in 2020 and 2022. The one loss was in 2021 when the Lady Pirates were bumped up to Class 5 for that season.
Platte County won its last eight games in the regular season and pushed the win streak to 10 after a pair of district victories. The Lady Pirates entered the district championship with six straight sweeps – counting the postseason – as they’ve won 21 straight sets dating back to their 3-1 victory over Raymore-Peculiar (13-13-1) on Oct. 3.
Entering districts as the No. 2 seed, Platte County easily took care of business in the opening round against Kansas City’s East (10-11-1) on Oct. 17. The Lady Pirates dominated on the day, winning the first set 25-7 and only giving up one point in the second set before closing the match out with a 25-11 triumph.
Tatianna Murray had 13 kills, along with one dig, and Ava Wheeler finished with eight aces to go with 27 assists. Ava Filger had six digs, while Kendall Johnson and Karlee Riggs both had six kills.
Platte County had to take on third-seeded Smithville next and took down the rival for the 15th straight time with the last loss coming in 2012. The most competitive set was the first one when the Lady Pirates prevailed, 25-15.
Smithville scored 14 points in the second set and 12 points in the third set, having its season end at the hands of Platte County for back-to-back falls. Jenna Wheeler led the match with 17 digs and Ava Wheeler facilitated 39 assists.
Platte County took on top-seeded St. Pius X (26-6) in the Class 4 District 8 Championship on Oct. 24. In the only regular season meeting, the Lady Pirates were swept in a 2-set match in the only WInnetonka Tournament back on Sept. 16.