The Raiders upset two higher seeds to finish third in the district tournament, qualifying for area.

“It was a good accomplishment being our first year [in 6A],” senior Zane Ritter said. “It was good for our freshmen too, knowing that we could succeed.”

The road to area began with the sixth-seeded Raiders facing No. 8 Stony Point at home in the first round. The team shut out the Tigers 11-0, Sept. 29.

“It went really well, I think we all played really solid and they just weren’t really a match for us,” senior Dylan Ritter. “We were clearly a lot better than them.”

The win moved the Raiders into the quarterfinals to play No. 4 Pflugerville, Sept. 30. At the Panthers’ home courts, the team took a 4-2 lead with one doubles match left. As singles began to play, the matches evened out. After more than four hours of play, the score was tied at 9-9 with one deciding match left.

The team crowded around the fence lining the courts to watch sophomore Brooke McKinnon, whose match would be the deciding one.

“Some of the people were laying on the ground do be able to see through the fence,” McKinnon said. ‘’It was very intense. I was relieved once the match was over and I won.”

McKinnon won in three sets (6-1, 1-6, 6-1) giving the Raiders the win and helping them move onto the semifinals. The win guaranteed the Raiders a spot in the area tournament.

“It felt amazing to beat Pflugerville because we have been working really hard to go to area and the hard work finally paid off,” sophomore Noah Corder said. “I’m very proud of my team and wouldn’t want to share this experience with anybody else.”

After playing until 9 p.m. Tuesday, the Raiders turned around the next day to play second-seeded McNeil, Oct. 1. At their home courts, the team lost 10-7, sending the Mavericks into the district championship match.

“It was so close it really hurt to lose,” senior Megan Bush said. “We felt really down because it was so close.”

The loss sent the Raiders to face No. 3 seed Round Rock, Oct. 2 for who would finish third and fourth in district. A final match that helped clinch the 10-9 win came from freshman Linda Engelman, who was playing only her third match of the season. After winning her first set 6-4, she fell behind 3-5 in the second set, only to come back and win four straight games to close out the set, 7-5 and win the match.

“It felt really good to win against Round Rock,” senior Janessa Spencer said. “This means we won’t have to play as hard of a team going into area, and it was nice to get revenge on them after losing earlier in the season.”

The Raiders now move on to the area tournament, Oct. 16.

“It’s awesome we get to go to area because we moved into 6A and weren’t seeded to move on,” Spencer said. “The odds were against us.”