The Falcons improved to 7-2 and came away with first place in the Longhorn Invitational tournament in Payson Saturday, Sept. 2.

Head coach Olivia Long, a Payson graduate, returned to her old stomping grounds and guided the Falcons to a 5-1 record over Labor Day weekend.

“Proud is an understatement,” Long wrote in an Instagram post over the weekend.

The Falcons went 4-2 in the Longhorn Invitational last year, and their best tournament performance came later in the season, earning fourth place in the Florence Invitational tournament.

Fountain Hills will play in the Florence Invitational again in October, but the next weekend tournament is the Coconino Classic Friday, Sept. 15 , and Saturday, Sept. 16.

After the Payson tournament, Tuesday, Sept. 5, the Falcons lost 1-3 to Gilbert Christian, last year’s No. 8 ranked team. The Falcons lost 11-25, 25-21, 15-25, 23-25, and then faced another tough opponent after press time.

The Falcons went to Valley Christian, last year’s No. 2 ranked team in 3A, Thursday, Sept. 7. The Falcons traveled to Chino Valley for the first region matchup Monday, Sept. 11, and they have back-to-back road games on Monday, Sept. 18, and Tuesday, Sept. 19.

The Falcons travel to Payson again for a match at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18, and then they travel to Camp Verde to play at 6 p.m. Sept. 19.