In a rematch of last year’s district championship game, Platte County picked up a win over Park Hill on Thursday, Sept. 5 at Platte County High School.
Playing in the best of five format — teams have the options to do that this year in advance of a change next season — the Pirates won the deciding match 15-11 after the two teams split the first two matches.
Platte County won the first match, 26-24, before the Trojans came back to win 25-23. In set three, the Trojans won again, 25-23. Platte County won 25-17 to force the deciding match.
TODD NUGENT PHOTOGRAPHY/Special to the Citizen
Platte County volleyball coach Katlyn Donovan, center, and her team celebrates the end of a win against Park Hill on Thursday, Sept. 5 at Platte County High School.
Bryn McGehe had 25 kills, two aces, one block, 21 digs and 17 assists for Platte County. Aly Anderson (18) and Kate Brown (15) both finished in double figures in kills for Platte County, which had 68. Anderson had 21 digs, while Mishell Simms added 12. Ashley Bell paced the Pirates with 33 assists.
Park Hill, which beat Platte County in the district finals, got 13 kills from Oklahoma commit Kristen Birmingham. Freshman Shaye Koski added 11, while sharing the team lead in blocks with two with Hannah Graves and Aliyah Lyons.
Megan Hoover had 23 digs, one of four in double figures for Park Hill. Birmingham had 22, followed by Alyssa Ramos with 16 and Koski with 11.
Lyons had 22 assists and Graves added three aces.
Other matches
Park Hill South 2, Blue Springs South 0
Samantha Williams picked up a victory in her debut as the Panthers head coach on Monday, Sept. 3 in Blue Springs.
Park Hill South got a 25-20 and 25-22 victory against the Jaguars, a Class 4 quarterfinalist last year.
Arley Anderson had 18 assists, while her 16 digs were tied for the team lead with Abigail Day. Keegan Good had 11 digs and four aces. Rachel Francis had six kills and three blocks, while freshman Isabel Day had a team-high eight kills for Park Hill South.
Lee’s Summit West 2, Platte County 0
The Titans spoiled the season opener for the Pirates with a 25-22 and 25-20 win on Monday, Sept. 2.
Sophomore Kate Brown (nine) and Bryn McGehe (six) accounted for 15 of the Pirates’ 19 kills. Presli Firkins led the Pirates in 13 digs and aces (two), while Aly Anderson added 10 digs. Ashley Bell had 10 assists.
Liberty 2, Park Hill 0
The Blue Jays swept the Trojans in the season opener for the second straight year, this time winning 25-18 and 25-17.
Dating back to 2010, the Blue Jays are 17-0-1 against Park Hill, including a victory in the Class 4 playoffs last season.
Hannah Graves had six kills and six blocks for Park Hill. Alyssa Ramos and Kristen Birmingham had nine digs each, while Adriana Villegas had five assists. Bailee Middleton had 11 kills for Liberty, three less than all of the Park Hill players.