The West Platte volleyball team huddles up in the KCI Tournament at Lawson High School on August 26.
LAWSON – The KCI Volleyball Tournament kicked off the year in annual fashion with West Platte (3-2) taking third place and North Platte (1-4) ended the weekend with one less win than all of last season on August 26.
West Platte wasted no time getting going, sweeping its first two opponents of the year. With only two sets being played in pool matches, the Lady Blue Jays flew past Plattsburg (2-3) and North Platte but dropped both sets against East Buchanan (5-0), scoring 15 and 23 points in losing efforts.
North Platte didn’t have as much luck in pool play, not winning a single set against three teams. The Lady Panthers’ closest match was against the Lady Blue Jays – with set scores of 25-18 and 25-21 – along with being swept by East Buchanan and Plattsburg.
Following pool play, the conference teams were seeded with half of them going to the consolation bracket and the other half going to the championship bracket. West Platte was in the championship bracket and North Platte was in the consolation bracket.
West Platte matched up with Lawson (4-1) in the tournament and lost both matches. The Lady Blue Jays were competitive in both but fell 25-18 and 25-20.
Lathrop (2-3) lost in three sets to East Buchanan so met up with West Platte in the third-place match. The Lady Blue Jays took a 1-0 advantage in the first set with a 25-18 win and was one set away from taking third place.
Lathrop stole the second set, 25-22. In a winner-take-all third set, West Platte came away with a 25-20 victory.
Meanwhile, North Platte was in the other gym at Lawson High School and started off with a matchup against Mid-Buchanan (3-2). The Lady Dragons comfortably won the first set 25-5 before coming away with a sweep when they defeated the Lady Panthers 25-17 in the second set.
North Platte ended the weekend on a high note, coming away with a 2-1 victory over Penney (0-5) to take seventh place. The Lady Panthers won their first set of the year with a 25-13 triumph.
Penney tied the match with a 25-20 victory, but North Platte came up clutch when it mattered the most, winning set three 25-13 to take seventh place. West Platte will host Orrick and North Platte will head to West Nodaway with Nodaway-Holt on August 31.