The Falcon beach volleyball squad kept its perfect record alive last week, besting the team from Rancho Solano Prep on the road March 29 (5-0) before toppling Seton Catholic Prep (4-1) in front of the hometown crowd on March 31.

Play resumed at home this past Monday, April 5, with an outing against Horizon Honors and will continue this afternoon, April 7, with a 4 p.m. home match against the team from Arizona College Prep.

Head coach Peter McGloin said the Falcons had to adjust some of their lineups in las week’s pair of matches but, in the end, everything turned out just fine.

Rancho Solano Prep

McGloin said the Falcons had a strong showing in their March 29 showing against Rancho Solano Prep, winning each set played.

“Multiple pairs were playing together for the first time, but they have all had experience with each other during the preseason, so the adaptations seemed to go pretty smoothly,” McGloin said. “Pairings are very important in beach volleyball not just for skill compatibility, but also for emotional compatibility, which can dramatically impact confidence and resilience, and thereby the team’s success on the court.”

The Falcons didn’t seem to have any issues across the board, going on to win by a team score of 5-0.

McGloin said that sometimes just trying to be too perfect of a teammate for someone you're not used to playing with can get in the way of being the best player you can be. But despite not having the time to develop comfort together, he said a few pairs played together for the first time and still excelled.

Jelina Lynch and Ainsley Boersma played together for the first time this outing, for instance, going on to best their opponents by a score of 21-14, 21-13. Best friends Meghan Bearer and Jordan Pace also had the opportunity to play together for the first time this outing, going on to win by a score of 21-12, 21-19.

Finally, Elliana Schulze played her first varsity match this outing and, alongside teammate Emerald Sopeland, came out victorious by a score of 21-11, 21-7.

Seton Catholic Prep

Two days later, on March 31, the Lady Falcons played a different lineup against Seton Catholic and lost in the 5’s match-up.

“The rest of the pairs won their matches, though, so the final result was a convincing victory,” McGloin said. “Jelina Lynch and Mia Kohoutek played together for the first time and did great, winning at 1’s 21-9, 21-17.”

At the 2’s, Meghan Bearer and Ainsley Boersma were “reunited and continuing to grow as a team,” according to McGloin, going on to win by a convincing margin of 21-14, 21-9.

Jordan Pace and Emerald Sopeland were also back together again in the 3’s spot, winning what McGloin called an “exciting battle” by claiming the first round 21-14, falling in the second 21-18, only to bounce back to find a final victory at 15-11 in the third set.

“They showed a lot of toughness in earning this victory,” McGloin said.

Brooke Williams and Layne Lease played together for the first time in the 4’s match and, after a slow start during the first few points, managed to dominate the competition to earn a win at 21-13, 21-10.

“All in all, the team adapted well this week and took care of business,” McGloin said. “We still need to improve our resilience and be more aggressive as we get closer to the playoffs, but we have four more weeks of competition to get there and I think we’re definitely heading in the right direction.”