Farmersville junior Peighton Purser motivates her teammates during a recent home match vs. Caddo Mills. Purser logged 21 kills and 16 digs in the Lady Farmers’ playoff loss to Pleasant Grove. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media

By David Wolman

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For the third year in a row, the Farmersville volleyball team played Pleasant Grove in the playoffs.

Although the Lady Farmers kept the score much closer than in last season’s Class 4A bi-district 3-0 loss to the Lady Hawks, Farmersville was unable to build on momentum swings and racked up 15 service errors in a 3-1 loss (20-25, 14-25, 25-22, 25-21) at Mount Vernon High School last Thursday.

Farmersville began the match on the right foot, with sophomore Cambrant Donaldson turning back a Pleasant Grove hit for a block and a 1-0 Lady Farmers lead.

But the Lady Hawks continued to fire away, using a heavy dose of strong hitting by senior Jayla Rowden to get their offense into a good rhythm. Rowden had two kills and a block during the next three points to give the Lady Hawks a 3-1 lead.

It was the start of a big night for Rowden, who finished with 16 kills and five blocks. She got offensive support from senior Abby Henard (10 kills, four aces) and junior Kennedy McBride (nine kills).

That advantage grew to 13-5 after a McBride kill.

But just when it appeared that Pleasant Grove was going to win the opening set in runaway fashion, Farmersville capitalized on a few Lady Hawks hitting errors to reduce its deficit. The Lady Farmers also benefited from strong serving by junior Isabella Lopez, who notched two aces within a span of four points, the latter cutting Pleasant Grove’s lead to 16-12.

Junior outside hitter Peighton Purser made it 16-13 with a kill on the ensuing point. It was the start of a big night for Farmersville’s top offensive threat. She finished the match with 21 kills, one ace and two blocks.

Donaldson contributed six kills and five blocks.

However, a missed serve on the ensuing point stalled Farmersville’s momentum. The long serve jump-started a 9-7 Pleasant Grove run to end the first set as the Lady Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five match.

Service errors particularly plagued Farmersville in the second set, with five service errors hurting the Lady Farmers’ cause.

Despite the miscues, Farmersville remained within striking distance. The Lady Farmers got as close as 12-9 after Purser notched a kill from the 10-foot line. However, another untimely missed serve on the next point proved costly. Pleasant Grove took the momentum and finished the set on a 13-5 run to gain a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

Now needing to win the final three sets to extend their postseason, the Lady Farmers trailed for the first half of the third set but received timely kills from Purser to prevent the Lady Hawks from going on an extended scoring run.

Farmersville finally took its first lead at 16-15 after a kill by senior Ja’Dyn Kirby. That advantage grew to 22-19 following a kill by freshman Nidya Duran, forcing Pleasant Grove to call a timeout. Six points later, a fourth set was forced after Rowden hit the ball out of bounds.

In the fourth set, Farmersville led five times over the first nine points, with a passing error by Pleasant Grove giving the Lady Farmers a 5-4 lead. The Lady Farmers had chances to build a multi-point lead, but errors and two kills by Henard allowed Pleasant Grove to stall any momentum swings for Farmersville.

Pleasant Grove took the lead for good, 12-11, after a missed serve by Farmersville. The Lady Farmers (29-13) later fought off three match points, but a service error clinched the win for the Lady Hawks.

For more on this story see the November 6, 2025 print, or digital edition of The Farmersville Times. Subscribe today and support local journalism in your community.