The Fountain Hills High School volleyball team played its play-in game Tuesday, Nov. 1, and the outcome decides how much longer the season will last. The No. 16 Falcons hosted No. 17 Parker after press time, and the winner advances to the state tournament this Saturday.

The Falcons entered last week ranked No. 16, and they finished the last week of the regular season 1-1. The Falcons lost 3-1 to No. 3 Northwest Christian on Monday, Oct. 24, and they beat Bourgade Catholic 3-0 on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

The Crusaders were celebrating their last home game of the season, but the Falcons spoiled their good mood. Fountain Hills won the first set 25-20 against the top-ranked team, and they almost won the fourth set, losing close at 25-21.

“Playing them in the first set, it was awesome we were able to pull off that win,” Falcons coach Olivia Long said. “Our girls played really well but, also, it was evident that it wasn’t Northwest Christian’s best set. We were expecting them to come back really strong, which they did in sets two and three.”

Following the 25-20 win, the Falcons lost the next two sets 25-7 and 25-12. The fact that the Falcons won one set helped them keep their ranking, because Northwest Christian has only lost five sets this season in non-tournament games.

The Crusaders lost a close 3-2 game to No. 8 Valley Christian, and they beat Scottsdale Christian Academy and Fountain Hills 3-1. The Crusaders swept every other team they played, including beating Fountain Hills 3-0 four weeks prior to last week’s game.

“I feel a ton of pride in them,” Long said. “I think we finished last season at No. 26 or lower, and this season, we’re going into our postseason at No. 16. So, jumping 10 full spots in state in one season is really impressive and also given, I know I say this a lot, but the youth of our team. We still only graduated two seniors this year, so this isn’t their peak by any means, but it is just really a testament to how much they grew in the last year and how much more they’ve still got left in them.”

The Falcons closed out October 5-2, and they went 10-7 overall in non-tournament games. The Falcons actually finished fourth in Region 3A North Central behind three other playoff teams: No. 3 Northwest Christian, No. 12 Scottsdale Christian Academy, and No. 15 Camp Verde.

The Falcons won their last game 3-0 at Bourgade Catholic. Earlier this season, the Falcons let the Golden Eagles (1-21) win a set against them.

“It was really good to play them again,” Long said. “The first time we played them, we actually lost a set to them this season, which was kind of a wakeup call for us. So, closing out in three, that was good.”

As the higher seed, Fountain Hills hosted the play-in round for the postseason. The winner between No. 16 Fountain Hills and No. 17 Parker will play in the first round of the state tournament on Saturday, Nov. 5. The first round and quarterfinals take place on the same day and are hosted at the neutral site, Marcos de Niza High School.

“We play Parker, and as far as competitors, we know relatively little about them,” Long said. “We’ve never played them in a season, we don’t even share opponents. We’re kind of going in blind, but I think that can be to our benefit, because that gives us a chance to not get into our heads about what they can and can’t do, and just really focus on what we can do.”

Long said a big key to the Falcons’ success will be healthy mental attitudes. The Falcons have been playing well to end the regular season, but they’ll need to keep it up if they want to keep advancing through the state bracket.