After finishing their first week 5-2, the Fountain Hills High School volleyball team slid to 6-4 after a three-game stretch last week. The Falcons lost twice at home but beat Payson 3-1 on the road.

The Falcons hosted Gilbert Christian on Tuesday, Sept. 6, to open at home. The Falcons played a competitive game, but too often had to play catchup against the Knights. The Falcons rode senior captain Titleist Patrick’s serving in the first set to come back from down 17-13 to lead 19-17, but ended up losing the first set 25-22.

The Falcons closed another gap in the score of the second set, but lost 25-20, and proceeded to lose the third and final set 25-16.

“One thing I kind of admire about our team is we’re really good underdogs, but at the same time, it can kind of hurt us,” senior Olivia Sopeland said after Tuesday’s loss. “For some reason, we always really like making a big gap and being down and then having this amazing comeback and these amazing saves.

“It’s really cool to see my team work for it, but I feel like it’d be good if we kept that energy throughout the whole game, and really start it off strong and keep the energy that I know we have inside of us.”

The Falcons played in the Longhorn Invitational two-day tournament, and then had two days off because of Labor Day before hosting Gilbert Christian. The Falcons didn’t have time to practice, but they learned a lot in three games over three days.

On Wednesday, Sept. 7, the Falcons traveled to Payson and came away with a win. Against head coach Olivia Long’s alma mater and the Falcons’ biggest rival, the Falcons played with grit and won 25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21.

“Wednesday on the road at our biggest rival, we knew we really had to kick it into gear,” Long said. “We played the best I’ve seen them play in the two years I’ve known them. We were on every single play; it was so good.”

The Falcons returned home and hosted Valley Christian on Thursday, Sept. 8. Unlike two days prior, the Falcons didn’t play much catch-up. Outside of a 16-2 scoring run by Valley Christian to end the first set, Fountain Hills either led or was within two points almost the entire match.

Regarding the first set last Thursday, the Falcons were leading 10-9 but lost the set 25-12. The Falcons got back into the game and lost the next two sets 25-20, 25-23.

“That’s one of those situations where we’re playing hard and then we get spooked,” Long said. “They lose a point or two off a good a kill the other team has, and then they assume the mentality like ‘oh crap, we’re not going to get this next ball.’ That’s where we mentally retreat into thinking that we’re not capable. The score starts to climb, and we think ‘well we can’t close this gap.’”

Long said her team wanted a win, and it was easy to shake off the first set heading into the second because of that. The Falcons led by as much as five in the second set and as many as seven in the third set. Long did say that there’s a skill gap between the Falcons and Valley Christian, but her team made all the attitude adjustments necessary between Tuesday and Thursday to give themselves a chance, and she can coach up their skill as the season continues.

“They outplayed us, but we didn’t give in, and it was a loss that we can be proud of and that we can build on,” Long said. “Rather than comparing ourselves to [Valley Christian], we’re going to compare ourselves to our team and what we looked like on Tuesday, over the summer and last season. It’s a loss that stings, but not as bad as it could.”

The Falcons limited their serving mistakes last week, but still have some cover and receive work to do. They’ll make sure to learn from film this week and have their seniors to thank for that. According to Sopeland, the three seniors approached Long and asked her if they could watch film as a team. Seniors Sopeland, Patrick and L.J. Holland are all multiple sport athletes for Fountain Hills and felt watching film helped them in past basketball and soccer seasons.

This past Monday, Sept. 12, the Falcons traveled to Chino Valley to play their first region game of the season after press time. Tonight, Wednesday, Sept. 14, the Falcons will host non-region Payson at 6 p.m. The Falcons continue their region schedule at Camp Verde next Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 6 p.m.

“Expect that we will want that win,” Long said. “Payson also is going to be looking to upset us at home because we did that to them. They’re going to want their vengeance. It’s going to be a really good game. The key for us will just be, maintaining our composure and staying humble, knowing that we’re going to have to fight to win.”