Farmersville senior Aaliya Corzine (6) hits the ball over the net during Friday’s home match against Wills Point. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media
By David Wolman
After the Farmersville volleyball team defeated Sunnyvale on Oct. 9 to earn its first win over the Lady Raiders in four years, head coach Arian May felt her Lady Farmers had learned an important lesson: how to finish.
Not just finish, but finish against a team ranked in the top 10 in Class 4A.
It’s a lesson Farmersville continues to put into practice.
Friday afternoon’s match against Wills Point lacked the late-game drama of the Lady Farmers’ previous two matches against Sunnyvale and Caddo Mills. Instead, Farmersville fired on all cylinders from the opening serve and never let up in a 25-11, 25-14, 25-12 sweep.
“We just, in general, have been finishing well,” May said. “Both of those games were back and forth, point for point. In the past, we had struggled completing those sets. This past week, we have just been dialed in. We’re learning how to complete a match, which is nice.”
Farmersville (30-11 overall, 7-2 District 13-4A) trailed just twice Friday. Both times, the Lady Farmers responded with extended scoring runs to create separation from the Lady Tigers (10-20, 2-7).
The Lady Farmers led from start to finish in the opening set. Junior Cambrant Donaldson and senior Aaliya Corzine recorded back-to-back kills on the first two points. The lead grew to 4-0 after a pair of service aces by senior Peighton Purser.
Farmersville continued to build its advantage. Junior Lillian Couture added three kills midway through the set, with the third giving the Lady Farmers a 12-5 lead. Donaldson then helped seal the opening-set win with three kills over a four-point span. Her final kill came on set point, giving Farmersville a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five match.
Wills Point had its moments defensively, digging out several hard-hit balls from Farmersville. However, the Lady Farmers proved more effective at finishing points, thanks largely to quicker execution on offense.
“We’re trying to work our middles,” May said. “Lillian (Couture) has been super effective. She is someone that we rely on a lot, and her hitting percentage is really high. She is hitting about .500 for district.”
Wills Point took its first lead of the match after a Farmersville attack went into the net on the opening point of the second set. The rest of the set belonged to the Lady Farmers. Consecutive service aces by junior Brinlea McDole gave Farmersville the lead, which it never relinquished.
The teams traded points early in the third set. Wills Point took a 3-2 lead after a poor pass by Farmersville set up a kill for the Lady Tigers. The momentum lasted just one point, as Donaldson answered with a kill to tie the score. Farmersville never trailed again.
A block and a kill on consecutive points by Couture extended the lead to 21-10. Purser closed out the sweep with a kill on match point.
The victory came three days after Farmersville earned a 27-25, 25-21, 25-23 road win over Caddo Mills.
The Lady Farmers controlled the net, finishing with 15 blocks, including six apiece by Couture and Corzine. Freshman Emree Brazil added 14 kills and three blocks. Purser turned in an all-around performance with 12 kills, two blocks and eight digs, while McDole recorded 15 digs. Senior Breelynn Pollard finished with 31 assists.
“Great defensive game,” May said. “We were kind of flat at first. I think we were down seven or eight points in the first set, but we came back and pulled it out in the end. It was nice to go win that first set and carry it on through the next two.”
Farmersville will conclude the regular season Tuesday at Quinlan Ford. The Lady Farmers will travel to Commerce next Monday for a warm-up match against Commerce.
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