The varsity high school volleyball team got an important win last Thursday, Sept. 23, over Payson High School in four sets. The Falcons played at home for the first time this season, and the energy was pulsing for senior night in Fountain Hills.

“Having our student section be so loud, having the Payson bench be so passionate about their team, it was just vibrating,” Fountain Hills head coach Olivia Long said. “It was over the top exciting and I think it really encouraged the girls to play harder with all of that. They fed off the energy in the room.”

Much was at stake for Long and her Falcons. Long graduated from Payson in 2017, and she is still familiar with the team and staff at the school. Long’s younger sister will be a freshman on the volleyball team next season.

The Falcons wanted revenge for an earlier loss to Payson in five sets on Sept. 2. The Falcons lost by three points in that match’s tie-breaker set but never let it get that close at home.

The first set was a nail-biter, with neither team pulling more than three points ahead at one time. The set was tied at 23-23, but Fountain Hills won the set 25-23 off a kill by sophomore Sophie Wickland.

The second set started out great for the Falcons. They built an 8-6 start into a 17-8 lead before exhaustion caught up to them. The Falcons managed to win the set, but Payson made it close, 25-20.

“I could definitely see them getting tired from playing so hard in the first two sets,” Long said. “We do struggle with keeping a lead. There’s been several games in the past where we’ve gotten some real good serving runs, and then it quickly closes. We need to work on maintain that gap and not allowing the other team to get caught up.”

The Payson Longhorns turned their late push in the second set into another push in the third set. The Longhorns won the third set 25-21, but the Falcons would bounce back in the next set.

The Falcons jumped out to a 6-2 lead and Payson called a timeout when they were down 11-5 in the fourth set. The Falcons maintained their lead all the way until they won, 25-17.

The Falcons only have two seniors, and they were honored before the game. Soliel Smith and Neveah Mancha both affected the game on Thursday. Smith even had a wild kick save late in the fourth set that led to a Falcon point.

“In a sense, it’s a lot riding on just the two of them,” Long said. “The previous team had eight seniors, so they were able to share the joys and successes and really work together. But now it’s these two seniors who are working with young sophomores who don’t have as much experience. For those young players to come out and play the way that they did, I think that really motivated and gave hope to the seniors.”

Long said she was most impressed by her setters, sophomore Bella Garman and Smith. She described them as “scrappy,” and said they covered better than she could’ve asked them too. Long also said the Falcon’s serve and receive play was the best she’s seen so far thanks to sophomore libero Sydney Boeshans.

The Falcons still have a long season to go, with as many as three games a week in October. The Falcons traveled to Chino Valley on Monday, Sept. 27, after press time, and will play at home again today, Sept. 29. They welcome the Bourgade Catholic Golden Eagles at 6 p.m.