West Platte senior Arianna Nower has helped lead the Lady Blue Jays’ to a 16-8-3 record and the No. 3 seed in districts.
PLATTE COUNTY – West Platte (16-8-3) and North Platte (4-23) are set to be in the same district volleyball tournament with the conclusion of regular season play.
North Platte doubled its win total from a year ago and currently has its highest win percentage since 20210. West Platte has been to five consecutive district championship matches and will look to not only repeat that this go-round, but also win its first one since 2020.
Both teams will be in the Class 2 District 16 Tournament, which will be played at Mid-Buchanan High School. North Platte is the No. 7 seed and West Platte is the No. 3 seed.
The Lady Panthers haven’t won a postseason match since 2019 and will have a tough first-round opponent. East Buchanan (24-6-1) has eliminated North Platte in districts in two of the last three years and has won the last 12 matches – all by sweeps – dating back to 2018.
The Lady Panthers will play the No. 2 seed on Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m.. Although North Platte has struggled against the KCI rivals, East Buchanan recently lost one of its top players with an injury and ended the regular season with two consecutive losses.
Since beating Penney (4-19) and Orrick (3-20) in back-to-back matches in late September, North Platte has lost nine straight. The Lady Panthers only won one set in that time frame but will look to start fresh in the postseason.
West Platte has had an uncharacteristic end to the regular season despite earning the No. 3 seed in the Class 2 District 16 Tournament. Since reaching the Midway Tournament Championship on Sept. 23, the Lady Blue Jays only won four matches the rest of the way as they have gone 4-5-2 since then.
West Platte tied with Northland Christian (16-13-2) in a 2-set seeding match in the Sherwood Invitational back on Oct. 7. There will be a rematch of that in the first round of districts on Oct. 18 at 6 p.m.
West Platte’s road to a district title will be difficult, but it upset LeBlond – who was the No. 1 seed – in the 2022 district semifinals. The Class 2 District 16 Semifinals will be on Oct. 19 and the championship will be on Oct. 23.