One of Fountain Hills High School’s strongest sports programs kicks off its season this week. The beach volleyball team has 68 wins and 12 losses over the past six years, and head coach Peter McGloin thinks this year’s team is off to a better start than some of his other teams in that stretch.

“The exciting part is, we’ve got 10 returning players, seven of whom have been in the program now three years, and the other three, it's their second year,” McGloin said. “So, we’re just at a much better starting point, even than previous teams. We’re able to do some more advanced drills and hoping to add more to their arsenal as the year progresses.”

The Falcons travel to Scottsdale Prep tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 23, for their season opener at 4 p.m. They play their first home match against Eastmark on Friday, Feb. 24, at 4 p.m. All home matches are held at Golden Eagle Park.

The Falcons got their first taste of action last Wednesday, Feb. 15, in a scrimmage match with Gilbert Christian. McGloin tested out some pair combinations and two new assistants got to coach something more than practice.

Kailey McMahon followed up on a promise she made to McGloin in high school and joined his staff this year. McMahon, a 2018 graduate from Fountain Hills, holds the FHHS record for single season kills (654) and career kills (1,784).

McMahon was a five-year starter for the University of Wyoming women’s indoor volleyball team, and she was seventh in all-time kills for the university when she graduated, according to McGloin. McMahon also won two indoor and one beach state championships for the Falcons and she played with the older sisters of three current Falcons.

“It’s great to have her back home. She’s a natural at coaching,” McGloin said. “She understands the program so well. She’s been a part of Falcon volleyball for so long and she always said she would come back…It’s just awesome. Like it’s kind of rejuvenating and kind of why I do this. I just love having the kids come back to the nest.”

Another alumnus, Trevor Sandvig, is also helping McGloin. Sandvig was a team manager when he attended Fountain Hills, and he'll work in a part-time capacity. Longtime assistant coach Kelly Itano continues to help McGloin with the program.

The team size did shrink a little from last year, but with all the returning players and additional coaching, the Falcons are a deeper team. McGloin liked what he saw from his pairs during the scrimmage, but he's always prepared to shake things up if he needs too.

“We have a lot of players who can play at a high level right now,” McGloin said. “There’s a lot of interchangeable parts, and there’s so many good combinations, it makes it hard to choose where we’re going to start.”

Liv Sopeland is the only senior and she is joined by six returning juniors. The Falcons only had three upperclassmen last year, but they still earned a playoff berth with the No. 13 ranking and an 8-5 record. They lost in the first round of playoffs and had a lot of progress to build on top of last year.

“The ball control is so much better. We’ve come a long way over these seasons,” McGloin said. “They’ve put a lot of hard work in, especially with the offseason which could be a whole additional season.”

Every returning player looks improved to McGloin. The players are refining their skills, and he said certain defensive tricks take more experience to master. McGloin wants the players to be more unpredictable to their opponents on the sand, and he said everyone’s offseason work will be evident.

McGloin didn’t want to leave anyone out, but he did say junior Bella Garman made the biggest jump in skill since last year. He also said that juniors Sophie Wickland and Sydney Boeshans have looked really good and are practicing regularly.

“We’ve always known she has so much potential, but now [Garman] is doing the little things right,” McGloin said. “She is doing all the little things that makes her so much better at beach volleyball. She’s making better decisions, she sees the court better, she communicates better, her spacing is better.”

McGloin’s goal is to continue growing the skills of his returning players and get his new players up to speed. The Falcons will have a JV team again this year, and they have high hopes for the varsity squad this year.

The Falcons play matches this Thursday and Friday, and their next game is Monday, Feb. 27. They will host Deer Valley at 4 p.m., and they will then travel to Mountainside on Wednesday, March 1, to play at 4 p.m.