FARMINGTON -- In 2014 Farmington volleyball achieved unprecedented success, qualifying for state in their first season as a 5A West team and knocking off No. 1 Hot Springs Lakeside 3-1.
The Lady Cardinals advanced to the state quarterfinals and took Nettleton to the wire before coming up short, 16-14, in game five to lose 3-2 in a best of five match.
"The big thing is all my juniors and seniors this year were in some way, shape or form a part of that last year," said Farmington coach Marshall Ward. "They got to see how big of an accomplishment that was and you know that's going to make them desire to do that or better."
The accomplishments were reached during a season-long uphill battle. The Lady Cardinals found themselves in a new, unfamiliar conference with increased travel competing against bigger schools.
Farmington finished fourth in the conference standings tied with Greenbrier with identical 7-7 records. The edge in seeding and state tournament berth belonged to Farmington by virtue of a 3-1 home-court win in head-to-head competition against Greenbrier. The Panthers earned a split by defeating Farmington 3-2 at Greenbrier but Farmington held the tiebreaker.
Harrison swept conference play posting a 14-0 league record last year with second place Little Rock Christian (12-2) also tough. Morrilton finished third at 9-5, followed by Farmington (7-7) and Greenbrier (7-7). Ward said Vilonia was another very competitive team and expects the 5A West to be equally as strong this season although he is reluctant to name a preseason favorite.
"We went four sets with Harrison both times," Ward said. "Against Little Rock Christian we went to five sets with them. We are capable of beating them. There are a lot of strong teams, a lot of tough games in the 5A West."
Farmington had to win twice in the last week of the regular season just to have a chance to qualify for state and the Lady Cardinals did just that. They defeated Clarksville, 25-13, 25-21, 25-15, on Oct. 21 and overcame a game one, 25-20, loss on the road at Vilonia to take three straight games, 25-21, 25-13, 25-21, winning the match 3-1 on Oct. 23.
At any point during this run the Farmington girls could have looked at their circumstances and folded the tent. They needed help. Greenbrier had to lose twice in the final week or they, not Farmington, would have earned the fourth seed in 5A West standings. Greenbrier lost 3-0 at Little Rock Christian on Tuesday and went into a tiebreaker against Morrilton on Thursday before losing 16-14. Yet, in the midst of all this drama Ward kept his team focused and the results were impressive. At state Farmington defeated Hot Springs Lakeside (20-25,25-21,25-23,25-21) overcoming a game one loss to advance to the state quarterfinal. The feat is fixed in Ward's memory.
"To see the excitement that the girls had after winning the first-round game against a No. 1 seed, they were a No. 1 and we were a No. 4. It doesn't get a whole lot better," Ward said. "To see your girls win and all their hard work paid off. Winning a game you're not supposed to win. Most people wouldn't have put us in the state tournament in our first year in 5A. That was very satisfactory."
Farmington exited the tourney by the narrowest of margins in a five set (25-18,11-25,16-25,25-23,14-16) loss to Nettleton and the thrill of volleyball competition has taken root.
Sports on 08/26/2015