The 2025 volleyball season has gotten off to a challenging start for Platte County, but the challenges have presented opportunities for progress heading into the final month of the regular season.
The Pirates began the season with a 5-1 record, but have since won just seven of their 16 matches. During that stretch, Platte County has still demonstrated critical elements that can guide the team forward with a focus on working hard and a positive attitude.
“We are continually making progress in what we want to make progress on,” head coach Katlyn Donovan said. “The girls are working hard and that’s all we can ask for.”
Among the difficult challenges the Pirates have faced was their first five-set match on Sept. 23 against Grain Valley, a match they lost 3-2 on home court. Despite the defeat, there were still important lessons to be learned from the match.
Not only did the Pirates finally get a taste of what it will take to grind out a victory over a longer period of time, but they also had to force five sets against an aggressive opponent.
Platte County cruised through the first set against Grain Valley with 25-16 win, but Eagles came roaring back in the second set to gain as much as a 12-point advantage to take the second set 25-18. Not much changed to begin the third set as Platte County went down 5-0, but the Pirates eventually came alive to tie it 15-15 and jump in front 19-16 until a Grain Valley resurgence gave the Eagles the third set 25-21.
Desperate to extend the match to five sets, Platte County delivered in the fourth frame. The Pirates went down 2-0 early, but did not let any further damage affect them as they came back to take a 19-14 lead and win the fourth set 25-23.
Platte County was unable to hang with Grain Valley in the fifth set once the Eagles regained their momentum. The Eagles went on an 11-3 run to take the all-important fifth set and clinch the match 3-2.
“I’m proud of our fight,” Donovan said. “I know we took a loss, but a five-set match is something we can learn from since it’s not something we have been in yet this year. It’s definitely something we can learn from for postseason play.”
The Eagles served 15 aces between five players and had trouble stopping Grain Valley senior Kyleigh Casey, who had 25 kills and 21 digs. Platte County seniors Carissa Bacon and Malin Cole combined for 24 of the Pirates’ 54 kills while sophomore Ella Cruce tallied 23 assists and 18 digs.
After another defeat to St. Michael the Archangel on Sept. 24, Platte County bounced back with a 3-0 sweep of Ruskin on Sept. 25. The Pirates are back in conference action on Oct. 1 when they host Truman before visiting Belton on Oct. 2.
Donovan is seeing her team slowly progress. She will take the losses as long as it helps the team learn and prepare for postseason play.
“Our ultimate goal is to just be competitive at the end of the season,” she said. “Once districts get here, we want to be playing our best volleyball.”