The Platte County Pirates’ girls’ volleyball team is heading back to the Final Four.
The ladies advance to the state championship round with a five-set win over Notre Dame de Sion on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Pirate Fieldhouse in front of a packed house and rowdy student section. It’s the second time in three years and the third time in five years Platte County has advanced to the Final Four. The two previous times, the Pirates finished third.
“I was checking my pulse a couple of times, and it was way too high,” Pirates Head Coach Katlyn Donovan told The Citizen after the game. “I told the girls in the huddle we’re battle-tested, and that’s just a testament to the situations we’ve been in this year, and a couple of times, it didn’t go our way, but this time, it did.”
The Pirates seemingly were playing from behind most of the day. The Storm took the first set 25-21, but the Pirates were able to get a big lead in the second set and hold on to tie the match at one set apiece.
Likewise, the Storm built a big lead in the third set only to watch Platte County make a late charge to tie the third set late. The Storm were able to pull it together down the stretch and get the 25-22 third-set win.
Platte County trailed in the fourth set by as much as four points early but pulled away late in the fourth set to force the fifth set.
The Storm jumped out to an early lead in the fifth set, but the Pirates battled back to tie the set at 7-7 before taking a lead they would never give back. Platte County advanced with a 15-10 win.
“I feel like we were a little nervous those first couple of sets, but we remained calm and did a better job of controlling our side of the net, and that’s what we needed to do,” Donovan said.
Platte County’s hitters at the net were ready to slam the ball if it got too close and were able to get blocks, putting the pressure back on the Storm. Throughout the match, Platte County’s backline defense was a wall that would frustrate the Storm’s offense.
“We knew that they had a couple of good hitters, and we told them we needed to adjust well, but we try and harp that we’ve got to lay out for every single ball regardless of what happens, and that’s what we did today,” Donovan said.
The Pirates will play in the semifinals today (Wednesday) and will either play in the championship match or the third-place game on Thursday.
“Thank you to the fans and the crowd tonight,” Donovan said. “It’s rewarding that these girls earned another trip back to the Final Four.”
