SARGENT SCHOOL – It was a battle of ranked undefeated teams Tuesday at the Sargent High School gym as the Lady Farmers, ranked ninth in Class 1A, took on Del Norte, ranked third in Class 2A.
The match lived up to the hype. It was decided in four sets with all of the sets being decided by five points or less. That included the first and fourth sets that had to be decided in extra points.
But when the dust settled, Sargent came out on top. They won the first set 28-26, but the Lady Tigers won the second 25-21. The Lady Farmers took the final two sets by scores of 25-20 and 26-24.
“It was a good game,” said Sargent coach Sami Cotten. “Del Norte’s a good team. I’m glad we came out on top. They were all close. Del Norte has been in every single match that they’ve played and they will the rest of the season. We’re just going to focus on finishing a little bit more. But I’m proud of the girls.”
“Both great teams were competing,” said Del Norte coach Chance Canty. “A few balls fell the wrong way for each team in each set. So it came down to two points when it mattered.”
Del Norte scored the first point of the first set, but Sargent went on a 7-2 run to take a 7-3 lead. The Lady Tigers closed the margin to 9-8, but the Lady Farmers scored two straight points for an 11-8 lead.
Del Norte then scored seven consecutive points, including three service aces by Kailee Gallegos, to take a 15-11 advantage. But Sargent responded with a 6-1 run to regain the lead at 17-16.
The Lady Tigers scored three points in a row for a 19-17 lead. But the Lady Farmers had a 4-1 run for a 21-20 edge.
Del Norte retook the lead at 22-21, but Sargent took the lead back at 23-22. The Lady Farmers scored two straight points for a 24-23 lead, but Sargent did the same and led 25-24.
The Lady Tigers regained the lead at 26-25, but the Lady Farmers scored the final three points for a 28-26 win.
Sargent scored the first point of the second set, but Del Norte had a 10-4 run for a 10-5 advantage.
The Lady Farmers closed to within 10-8, and after the teams traded side outs, they narrowed the deficit to 13-12.
The Lady Tigers pushed the lead to 15-12, but the Lady Farmers scored four straight points for a 16-15 lead.
Del Norte had a 5-1 run for a 20-17 lead. Sargent scored four in a row to lead 21-20, but the Lady Tigers scored the final five points to claim a 25-21 win.
Sargent scored the first two points of the third set and increased the lead to 5-1. Del Norte went on a 6-1 run to take the lead at 7-6. The teams exchanged side outs before the Lady Tigers scored three consecutive points for an 11-8 lead.
The Lady Farmers answered by scoring seven unanswered points to take a 15-11 advantage. The Lady Tigers narrowed the margin to 15-13, and after trading side outs, Sargent increased the lead to 20-16.
Del Norte came back to cut its deficit to 21-20, but Sargent scored the final four points to claim a 25-20 victory.
The Lady Tigers scored the first two points of the fourth set before the Lady Farmers came back to tie the score at 3-3. Del Norte scored three straight points for a 6-3 advantage.
Sargent came back to deadlock the score at 7-7. Del Norte then went on a 6-3 run for a 13-10 lead.
The Lady Farmers again knotted the score at 15-15, but the Lady Tigers scored four consecutive points for a 19-15 advantage.
Sargent went on a 7-1 run for a 22-20 lead. It increased the lead to 24-21, but Del Norte scored three straight points to tie the score at 24-24.
The Lady Farmers scored the final two points to win 26-24.
Sargent was led by Reese Anderson with 21 assists and 11 kills, and Kandace Pargin with 16 assists and 21 kills. Makenzie Consaul had eight kills, and Bella Anderson, Kimmy Pargin, and Catie Deacon each had five. Deacon and Anderson each had one service ace.
Leading Del Norte was Kailee Gallegos with 38 assists. Brynley Brown led in kills with 18, followed by Reece Brown with nine, Baylie Laymon with seven, and Autumn Gallegos and Hadley Leggett both with six.
The Lady Tigers had12 aces and were led by Kailee Gallegos with five and Reece Brown with three.
Sargent (12-0, 4-0) will return to league play on Saturday as it will host Sierra Grande.
“It’s another league game and we’re looking forward to taking care of them,” Cotton said.
Del Norte (9-1, 1-0) will play another nonleague match against Dolores Huerta Prep on Friday.
