By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
EDGERTON – Facing potential elimination from the Division 7 sectional volleyball tournament against Stryker, Edgerton’s Alivia Farnham delivered in a pivotal moment for the Bulldogs, who were hoping to keep their season alive.
A three-year starter on the volleyball squad under veteran head coach Krista Pahl, the 6-0 senior middle hitter came through at the net when she recorded her 1,000th career kill early in the fourth set. The Bulldogs went on to win a five-set sectional final against Stryker, overcoming a two-set deficit.
“When she got the 1,000th kill, it just gave us the momentum and excitement these girls knew,” said Pahl. “They knew going in they didn’t want to be done and knew it was going to be a battle because when we played Stryker in the regular season, they beat us in four sets.
“In the back of our minds, we wanted to give her the opportunity to get that milestone. We knew we had to push through when we had lost those first two sets. Honestly, I thought we were done, I really did.
“But when we went into that third set, you could see the spark come back for us, and they pushed. We went into the fourth set, and then in the fifth set, they weren’t going to give up.”
She also became the first and only player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills.
“Obviously, it feels really great to have that milestone and that accomplishment,” said Farnham. “But that is not the most important thing. I think coming out on top of that game and winning was the best feeling. That was the goal all along, to be able to accomplish that milestone along the way, and it felt good.”
After dropping the first two sets to Stryker (25-22, 25-16) in the match, Farnham and the rest of her teammates were able to reverse the outcome with a 25-20 win in the third set prior to Farnham’s milestone kill early in the fourth set.
“We knew she was super close going into the match,” said Pahl, referring to Farnham’s milestone achievement.
“I knew she had gotten 32 kills the first time we played Stryker. We had to really push to get her (Farnham) all of her kills that she needed, plus to win. It was the fourth point in the fourth set that put us right there. That kind of helped give us the momentum to finish that fourth and fifth set off.”
It was definitely a big momentum shift for Edgerton (13-10), who would go on to claim the final two sets, 26-24, 16-14, and earned themselves a trip to districts.
“In volleyball, intensity takes teams a long way, and that kind of carried us over and got us over that ledge of ‘hey we need to win this game’ and bring the intensity from here on out,” said Farnham. “It really got the fans into it.”
At that moment, Farnham and her four other senior teammates, Aubrey Patrick, Olivia Wallace, Ava Swank, and Ava Giesige, didn’t want to see their season end.
“After those first two sets, we really turned our mindset around and said, ‘we’re not going out without trying,’” said the Bulldogs’ standout. “We really just turned around and got the momentum shifted and came out on top.”
Entering district action, Farnham has now recorded 1,015 kills in her career. Despite playing on the junior varsity squad as a freshman, Farnham would make her presence known on the volleyball court, recording 273 kills as a sophomore and 272 kills in her junior year.
Entering her senior year, Farnham needed 455 kills to reach the 1,000-career milestone club.
She already had broken the school’s previous career kills total of 796, held by Jamie Newman from 2010-2013, already this season, along with the most kills in a season (470), easily breaking the previous record of 328 by Addie Henricks in 2009, and also the single-game kills mark of 31 by Emma Siebenaler in 2018.
“Her volleyball accomplishments speak for themselves, honestly,” said the Edgerton coach.
“She contributes to every game. When you have, like, just for instance, our tournament game, she (Farnham) had 91 attempts for hitting alone, and that doesn’t include her 40-some digs or serve receives that she also had.
“Not only talent-wise, she’s also a leader on the floor while helping out with the underclassmen in practice and gives positive advice to them.”
In the five-set victory over Stryker, Farnham recorded 35 kills, thus marking the fourth time this season she had registered 30 or more kills in a single match.
She had previously totaled 32 kills each against Bryan (August 28) and Stryker (August 26) and 31 kills versus Hicksville (October 7).
Farnham not only excels on the volleyball court, but also in basketball and softball. This past February, she also became the tenth player in Edgerton girls’ basketball history to reach the 1,000-point barrier. Entering her senior year, she has scored 1,001 points.
Following high school graduation, Farnham will be continuing her basketball career at Trine University in Angola, Indiana.
Farnham admitted that basketball is her favorite sport, but volleyball has really helped her own athletic career, where she began to enjoy it a little more than she had thought.
The success that Farnham has achieved in volleyball has been attributed to Pahl, who has been there throughout her career.
“She’s a great coach and a big role model for me, not just on the court, but also off the court as well,” lauded Farnham.
“Obviously, I just don’t really care about what other people think and just go out and have fun. I think having fun is what she (Pahl) has taught us a lot, like if you play with a smile on your face, a lot can happen. There is no point in getting mad over the little things and keep a positive attitude through it all.”
Farnham has achieved plenty of athletic recognition throughout her successful high school career.
She earned first-team volleyball honors in both her junior and senior years in the Green Meadows Conference and earned District 7 first-team honors as a junior. As a sophomore, she was named an honorable mention in the GMC.
