Farmersville senior Aaliya Corzine (6) and the Fightin’ Farmers lost to Sunnyvale in three sets on Tuesday, Sept. 22. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media
By Devin Hasson
SUNNYVALE — Farmersville is no stranger to success on the volleyball court.
The Farmers won six consecutive district championships from 2017-2022 and made several deep playoff runs during that stretch.
Farmersville has remained a perennial playoff team in recent years, but another team has risen to the top of the district standings.
Sunnyvale has ruled the district roost during the last three years, compiling a 31-1 record en route to three consecutive titles.
On Tuesday, the Farmers were hoping to send a message that the tide had swung back in their favor, and at times, they looked like the better team.
But it was the Raiders who were able to win the critical points late in sets, and that proved to be the difference in a 26-24, 25-23, 25-17 victory at Sunnyvale High School.
Sunnyvale improves to 2-0 in the young District 13-4A season, while Farmersville drops to 1-1.
Farmersville can look back at the opening set as potentially the difference in the match.
The teams traded points at the start, with Peighton Purser providing five early kills and Lillian Couture adding two more along with a block to give the Farmers an early lead.
Tied at 12-12, Farmersville reeled off five consecutive points, getting a pair of aces from Cambrant Donaldson and two more kills from Purser to open a 17-12 advantage.
Sunnyvale never panicked, getting two kills each from Paislee Maupin and Ava Macha, along with blocks from Brooklyn Bomkamp and Jade Brown, to pull even at 20-20.
The Farmers actually had a set point at 24-23, but Ava Macha tied it with a kill, and Maupin followed with back-to-back points to rally the Raiders for the 26-24 win.
The second set followed a similar script, with the teams trading points early. Two kills from Emree Brazil gave Farmersville a 10-8 lead.
Ava Macha continued her strong play to keep the Raiders close, and back-to-back aces from Bethany Young gave Sunnyvale a 17-15 advantage.
The Farmers continued to answer, though, getting kills from Purser and Nidya Duran. Another kill from Brazil put Farmersville ahead 23-21.
Again, though, the Raiders were able to seize the moment late. Ava Macha had two kills to tie the score, and Young and Bomkamp followed with points at the net to claim a 25-23 victory and take a 2-0 lead.
The third set was once again tight at the start, with Purser and Maupin trading kills. But a block by Young, a kill from Ava Macha and an ace from Tatum Smith gave Sunnyvale a 10-7 lead, and it was an advantage the Raiders would not relinquish.
The Farmers pulled to within two on a kill by Purser, but the Raiders tallied the next four points, with Maupin’s kill making it 19-13 — the biggest lead of the night for either team at that point.
Sunnyvale was in a position to trade points down the stretch, and that is what it did. A kill from Young brought up match point, and Smith served out the 25-17 win to complete the sweep.
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