For the third time in the last four seasons, the Platte County volleyball team (24-9) will be playing in a district championship after defeating Staley (15-17) in four sets on Oct. 23.
The Platte County volleyball team celebrates against Staley on Oct. 23.
The Pirates entered the Class 5 District 16 Tournament as the top-seed, and they started off slow in the opening set of the district semifinals match. Platte County trailed 4-1 early and after tying Staley at 7, the Pirates scored five straight points to take control.
The Pirates closed out the opening set, 25-17, before winning the second set by a score of 25-20. Staley responded by taking the third set, 25-17, when the Falcons led by as much as eight.
“I think we kept swinging away at them, which was nice to see,” Platte County head coach Katlyn Donovan said. “Our defense and our serving were a little off tonight, so that put a little more pressure on our hitters to keep the ball in play.”
The final set in the match was tightly contested as the Pirates and Falcons found themselves knotted at 23 late in the set. A spike by Kate Brown gave Platte County the 1-point advantage, and Staley was unable to answer on the next possession as the volleyball eventually hit the ground and the Pirates moved on to the next round.
“We were pretty tense going into that fourth set and I think we did a good job of doing what we talked about in timeouts and transitioning it onto the court. I think we got a little nervous and played a little tight tonight. We need to be better and play a little more relaxed,” Donovan said.
Brown finished the district match with 20 kills, 19 digs and six assists, while Emerson Walter added 19 digs, one assist and one block. Kendall Johnson ended with 12 kills and Tatianna Murray had a team-high four blocks.
Platte County was scheduled to take on Park Hill (11-15-1) in the district championship at Oak Park High School on Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. The Pirates have swept the Trojans twice during the regular season.
“We are excited for the opportunity to get to play in another district championship. We have played them already this season, so we have a bit of a target on our back, but we just need the girls to focus for a couple more days and we will see what happens,” Donovan said.