The Falcon beach volleyball squad added another two wins to its undefeated season total, besting teams from Sequoia Pathway (5-0) and Gilbert Christian (3-2) to move to 9-0 on the season.

The Falcons hit the road this past Monday, April 19, to take on the team from North Pointe Prep, and will welcome the team from Notre Dame Prep today, April 21, at 4 p.m. Play continues next Monday, April 26, with a home outing against the team from Northwest Christian at 4 p.m. The final regular season match of the season is set for next Wednesday, April 28, with the Falcons on the road to play Saguaro at 4 p.m.

Sequoia Pathway

In the Sequoia Pathway match, head coach Peter McGloin said the Falcons won each set played, with the closest being by a score of 21-13. In other words, the Falcons had little trouble staying on top of their competition this outing against a fresh competitor.

“This is a new school that has just started playing beach volleyball, but they had a couple players who did a good job and looked like they’ve already learned a lot in their first season,” McGloin said. “I was most pleased with how we were able to stay focused and work on things needed for success once it’s playoff time.”

McGloin said the Lady Falcons did not do the bare minimum to win, but rather set the bar higher for themselves.

Gilbert Christian

McGloin said taking on Gilbert Christian turned out to be one of the biggest matches of the season so far. The Falcons came into the match at 8-0 and ranked fourth while Gilbert Christian was at 8-1 and ranked fifth.

“Both teams slugged it out and it could’ve gone either way, but we were fortunate to come out on top with a 3-2 victory,” McGloin said.

This match began with showdowns at the 2’s and 4’s, with the Falcons jumping out to an early lead by winning both.

“Brooke Williams and Mia Kohoutek played very well at 2’s and were the only team not to go three sets, winning both of the ones they played by scores of 21-16 and 21-13,” McGloin said. “They served aggressively and didn’t let off the gas the entire match.

“At the 4’s, Jordan Pace and Emerald Sopeland pulled off what ended up being a huge win after losing the first set, 21-19, and then adjusting well to pull off wins of 21-14 and 15-11 in the next two.”

The 3’s and 5’s teams played next, which McGloin said were two more heart-stopping, three-set battles.

“The 3’s match finished first with Meghan Bearer and Ainsley Boersma pulling out the nail-biter by scores of 21-19, 17-21, 15-12 to clinch the win for Fountain Hills in the duel,” McGloin continued. “The 5’s ended up losing their close match, and then the 1’s also lost a close match for their first loss of the season.”

McGloin said either of those matches could have gone the other way, so coaches, parents and players alike were able to get a reminder of how stressful beach volleyball matches can be to watch.

“It’s not just one game coming down to the wire that you’re a part of, but rather up to five of them,” McGloin said. “It sure was a lot of fun and a great opportunity to grow as we head into the final two weeks of the regular season.”

McGloin also wanted to give a shoutout to the JV match-up versus Desert Mountain, where Elliana Schulze and Bella Garman “played some phenomenal volleyball at the 1’s spot and pulled off an awesome win…”