The Fountain Hills High School volleyball team got a 3-0 win last Wednesday, Sept. 29, over region opponent Bourgade Catholic. The Falcons improved to 3-8 on the season and earned some much-needed confidence before a tough road schedule.

“We’re capable,” head coach Olivia Long said when asked what the biggest takeaway was from the game. “Keeping the momentum the whole time shows me we’re capable. When we face tougher competitors, we can do the same thing.”

The match started close, with the Golden Eagles matching point for point with the Falcons. The two teams were tied 10-10 in the first set before the Falcons started to separate themselves. After the Falcons jumped five points ahead, they let the Golden Eagles come close. Long called a timeout at 18-16, and then the Falcons won the first set 25-16.

“When we drop down like that, it’s important that we take a break and say, ‘hey, let’s go back to the fundamentals,’” Long said. “We can’t go back and forth with a team we should easily beat. Not to have a cocky attitude, but let’s play at the level we know we can.”

The Falcons relied on freshman Jocelyn Bloedel more than ever in the win over Bourgade Catholic. Bloedel plays middle on the JV team and usually sits behind upperclassmen on varsity. However, last Wednesday the Falcons were missing two middles, so the tall freshman had more opportunities to affect the game.

Titleist Patrick also played middle for the Falcons. The junior plays setter on the back row normally, but Long moved Patrick up to the front to play middle as well.

“We are making do with what we have,” Long said. “[Patrick] adjusted well, and all the girls have been really great in situations where we have to make an adjustment.”

The Falcons were able to easily win the next two sets, 25-13, 25-17. Long was happy to keep an undefeated win streak at home, but now she wants her team to win on the road. This week will be a real test.

The Falcons have three region road games this week. First, they traveled to Northwest Christian on Tuesday, Oct. 5. The Crusaders are 7-15 on the season and will be a tough competitor for the Falcons.

The Falcons play the 4-9 Wickenburg Wranglers on Thursday, Oct. 7, before their toughest match of the week. On Friday, Oct. 8, the Falcons take on the 16-1 Valley Christian Trojans.

Long said her team needs to find their rhythm on the road. Last week, they lost to 5-5 Chino Valley on the road thanks to a slow start. Long said they lost the first two sets by more than they should’ve before winning the third set and losing 25-21 in the fourth.

Long said this week’s matches will be telling about the remainder of the volleyball season. The Falcons have eight games after this week’s gauntlet, six of them being region games that could affect the Falcons’ playoff chances.