Platte County finished undefeated in in Suburban League Blue Division play after a straight sets victory against Belton on Thursday, Oct. 16 at Platte County High School. It was the Pirates first title since 2007 – their last year in the Midland Empire Conference before moving to the Suburban League in 2008.
“I was very pleased with the way our team finished the regular season,” Platte County coach Jan Patterson said. “Undefeated in conference play, first in two tournaments and second in the third tournament: how could I ask for better? We set goals, we stayed focused and we finished strong.”
In the win against Belton, Platte County finished with perfect service, including three aces and 11 points from Mickey Trimble, who also recorded 12 assists in the 25-14, 25-11 win. Maren Mair compiled 10 kills for the Pirates.
Platte County (30-2-2) earned the top seed in the Class 4 District 16 tournament hosted at Oak Park High School, which started play Monday, Oct. 20.
The Pirates earned a first-round bye and face Park Hill on Wednesday, Oct. 22. The Trojans beat Kearney in Monday’s No. 4 vs. No. 5 seed to advance to the semifinals.
The Class 4 District 16 championship match will be held after the conclusion of the Wednesday’s second semifinal between the second-seeded hosts Oak Park and No. 3 seed Staley. The champion advances to Class 4 sectional sectional/quarterfinal round slated for Oct. 25 at the home site of the District 13 champion.
The champion from the District 15 bracket — which includes Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association No. 1-ranked Liberty, a two-time winner against Platte County this year — plays the District 13 champion. District 16 champion faces the District 14 champion.
Park Hill 2, Kearney 0
The Trojans advanced to the semifinals to earn a second matchup this season with Platte County, which won the teams’ season opener back on Aug. 27 in straight sets. The two teams also met in district play last season, a three-set affair the Pirates won at Liberty High School. Senior captain Olivia Nowakowski recorded 16 digs and two aces for Park Hill, which had lost six of seven games entering districts, in the win against Kearney and now has 481 on the season.
Park Hill senior Hannah Martin led the attack with nine kills.
Park Hill South 2, Fort Osage 0
The second-seeded Panthers defeated No. 7 seed Fort Osage on Oct. 20 to advance to Tuesday’s Class 4 District 15 semifinal against third-seeded St. Teresa’s Academy. The result was not available at The Citizen’s deadline.
The winner advanced to Wednesday’s district championship match set for 6 p.m at Winnetonka High School in Kansas City, Mo. Liberty and No. 5 seed North Kansas City were playing in the other matchup.
Class 1 District 15
No. 2 seed North Platte and host and No. 3 seed West Platte played Tuesday in the semifinals for a spot in Oct. 22’s championship game. The result was not available at The Citizen’s deadline. Top-seeded Kansas City Lutheran and No. 4 seed St. Joseph Christian were playing in the other semifinal.
The championship match is set for 7 p.m. with the winner advancing to Oct. 25’s sectional/quarterfinal round, hosted by the District 13 champion.
North Platte won two of the three meetings between the KCI Conference rivals in the regular season, but the Bluejays triumphed in the previous matchup on Oct. 14 to claim the KCI regular season title.