Drew Aggus
Special to the Citizen
Liberty North came back after being down 1-0 to take down the Platte County Pirates, 2-1, in the Class 4 District 16 semifinal, which was played on Tuesday, Oct. 29 in Kearney.
The Pirates came out strong in the first set, setting the tone early for what would be a highly competitive game.
They jumped out to a quick 7-4 lead with Bryn McGehe earning two blocks and a kill. Two plays later, Presli Firkins, who led the team in digs with 20, recorded four digs in one play – a play that ended with a kill from Kate Brown.
The Pirates held on to the lead until the Eagles battled back and took an 18-16 lead late in the set.
However, the Pirates kept fighting, and Brown recorded another two kills with McGehe serving an ace to give their team a 19-18 advantage. They would hold on to this lead with Brown earning another three kills to seal the match 25-22. Brown would finish the game with a team-high 14 kills.
DREW AGGUS/Special to the citizen
Platte County’s Bryn McGehe, right, sets the ball for teammate Kate Brown during a match against Liberty North on Tuesday, Oct. 29 in Kearney.
In the second set, the Eagles came out scorching hot, jumping out to a 9-2 lead to start the set.
Brown led the Pirates’ attempted comeback, earning two kills, an ace and a block along the way, but it wouldn’t be enough, as the Eagles never looked back after their quick start, winning the set 25-21.
Pirates coach Katlyn Donovan knew that the team needed to regain some confidence in order to compete for the win in the third set.
“Our energy was good in that first set,” Donovan said. “I feel like we got a little nervous there in the second one when Liberty North started swinging away at us.”
In the third set, the Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Ashley Bell served a pair of aces, of which she recorded a team-high three on the night, and the Pirates took a 3-2 lead.
Neither team could gain much of an advantage for the first several points of the set. The game was tied at 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. It became clear that neither team was willing to give up on their season.
The Eagles then went on a quick 4-1 run to take a 15-11 lead. But then McGehe and Brown combined for a block, which sent the Pirates on a 4-1 run to knot the game back up 16-16.
Katie Dowden, the Eagles coach, was proud of the way her team fought during the rest of the set.
“We’ve worked hard all year on staying in the play and making hustle plays and not giving up on the ball,” Dowden said. “We did give up a few times tonight, which hasn’t really been characteristic of us, but we fought back.”
The Eagles then went on a 9-2 run to end the set, the game and the Pirates’ season, winning the set 25-18.
McGehe had a career-high 24 assists to go along with 18 digs, and Brown recorded five of the Pirates’ seven blocks.
In addition to McGehe’s career night, the Eagles’ Addison Beagle had a career-high 43 assists in the win.
The Eagles would go on to lose in the championship match to the last year’s champion of Class 4 District 15, Liberty.
Despite the loss, Donovan knows just how valuable this postseason experience is for her team moving forward.
“We’re losing a great group of seniors this year, so those juniors and underclassmen have big roles to fill — a big leadership role,” Donovan said. “We have a good core group of girls coming back next year — talent-wise.”
In Donovan’s seven years of coaching, this is the first time that she has had a group of players from their freshman through senior years.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls,” Donovan said. “They worked their tails off every single day in practice and weights and conditioning. They gave their best effort in everything that they could do.”
Park Hill South 2, Park Hill 0
In a rematch of last year’s Class 4 District 16 semifinal — a game that was won by the Panthers — Park Hill South took a victory over rival Park Hill in straight sets in the Class 4 District 15 semifinal, which was played at North Kansas City High School on Tuesday, Oct. 29.
The Trojans won last year’s Class 4 District 16 championship over Platte County, but now, the districts looked extremely different with the Trojans and Panthers both moving over to District 15.
In the first set, the Panthers won by just two points, 25-23, and in the second set, they won by just three points, 25-22.
DEREK BIGUS/Special to the Citizen
Park Hill’s Aisha Aiona hits the ball over the net during a Class 4 District 15 game in North Kansas City.
Kristen Birmingham led the Trojans’ offense with nine kills, while Megan Hoover had all four Trojan aces. In addition, Aliyah Lyons led the team with 17 assists.
Aisha Aiono and Hannah Graves each put up four blocks in the win, and Shaye Koski led the team with 14 digs.
Despite the loss, Trojans coach Lindsey Hood was still very pleased with her team’s season.
“Going into districts, we knew we had tough teams we would have to get past,” Hood said. “We played really consistently at the end of the year, and I think improvement through the season is a lot of coaches’ goals, and we definitely did that.”
St. Teresa’s Academy 2, Park Hill South 0
The St. Teresa’s Academy Stars took a straight-sets win over Park Hill South in the Class 4 District 15 championship game on Wednesday, Oct. 30 in North Kansas City.
The Panthers lost in the Class 4 District 16 semifinals last season, so making it to the district championship — albeit, a new district — was already an improvement over last year.
The Stars won last year’s Class 4 District 14 championship and ended up losing in the state semifinal. This year, it was a new district, but the Stars still came out on top.
In the first set of the championship match, the Panthers fought extremely hard, but the Stars still managed to hold them off 25-21. In the second set, the Stars took a huge win with the final score being 25-11.
Panthers head coach Samantha Williams was proud of her team, and she’s already prepared to get back out there next season with her team and try again.
“Big picture, I think the season went well,” Park Hill South coach Samantha Williams said. “You never like to see a season end the way ours did, but we can only hope that they use the loss as a learning tool and remember how they felt walking off the floor Wednesday evening. Overall, there’s lots to be proud of and (I’m) already looking forward to spring training and getting back on the court with them.”