It has been a challenging run for the Fountain Hills High School volleyball team, with the local ladies playing in two matches last week.

The Lady Falcons’ first match was on Sept. 17 against Valley Christian, where FHHS fell behind the Trojans by a final score of 3-0.

FHHS’ next game was two days later on Sept. 19 against Northwest Christian. Again, the Falcons lost the match to the Crusaders 3-0.

The volleyball team is in the midst of another two-match week. The first showdown was yesterday, Sept. 24, against American Leadership Academy. The second match is Thursday, Sept. 26. The match is against Payson and starts at 6 p.m.

Head coach Tia Kannapel said she isn’t thrilled with how this past week’s matches ended but, in the long run, she doesn’t think that this double loss will impact her team’s ability to perform.

“I personally don’t think this week will affect the girls moving forward,” Kannapel said. “I think they were disappointed about the Valley Christian game since they could have competed a little better, but the bounce back and fight they showed on Thursday lets me know we will be okay.”

Kannapel explained that Tuesday’s loss to Valley Christian was the toughest loss of the week because the Lady Falcons had the potential to clinch the victory.

“Unfortunately, we just couldn’t finish in the Valley Christian game,” Kannapel explained. ”We had solid leads in multiple sets but couldn’t figure out how to close out.”

Kannapel’s perspective on the following match against Northwest Christian is different because her expectations were also different.

“Northwest is a huge team who physically outmatch us and the girls continually pushed in this match,” Kannapel said. “Our main goal for this match-up was to mentally stay invested and push through no matter the score and every girl did this. Our communication stayed intact and we never quit so, overall, I’m happy with the outcome of this.”

Kannapel said she would like to see her team perform that way in every game, a message she shared in the locker room afterward.

“I told the girls, ‘think of the other two games we could have won if we showed the same amount of mental strength we did tonight (Thursday),’” Kannapel said. “They’ve seen the difference in their play when they mentally never quit.”

Looking forward, Kannapel said she believes the toughest part of the season is in the past.

“These last two weeks were by far the most physically and mentally demanding weeks we will have all season,” Kannapel said. “If they could make it through a 10-game week, then arguably two of the hardest teams in 3A the following week, we are looking just fine.”