You could hear the Fountain Hills High School gym from the parking lot before tip-off last Thursday, Sept. 28.

The Falcon volleyball team hosted No. 2 Northwest Christian (9-1) in their first home game since Aug. 30, and the Falcons went wire to wire with the defending state runners-up.

The No. 10 Falcons went to a fifth set and lost in overtime 3-2 (25-27, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 15-13). Fountain Hills hasn’t beaten Northwest Christian since the 2017 playoffs, and the Falcons have lost to the Crusaders 3-0 eight different times since then. The Falcons played even better than their 3-1 loss at Northwest Christian last year, and they celebrated their growth.

“I think the loss doesn’t really matter,” senior Jeneya Boone said. “I think we played hard, and I’m just proud that we’ve come so far. To even get two sets on them and give them a run for their money is just something I don’t think I’ll forget.”

The Falcons never backed down from the fight, and they were in it the whole time.

The two teams tied 32 different times across all five sets, and 17 of them happened in the first set. The Falcons never led by more than one point until they won the final three points of the set to win 27-25. Boone made a play at the net to secure the win.

“We were neck and neck the whole game,” junior Jocelyn Bloedel said. “Even when it wasn’t neck and neck, we’d come back however many points to make it neck and neck.”

Northwest Christian won 11 points in a row in the second set and took a 21-14 lead. The Falcons threw themselves at every ball and were gritty all night, and they climbed back to 24-23. Northwest Christian came out on top 25-23.

The Falcons went up by six in the third set, and senior Bella Garman prevented a Crusader comeback by scoring on the last two plays to win 25-22. Long previously said that Garman and a few others like juniors Kitrick Garman and Zoe Kohoutek are versatile enough to play anywhere on the court, and they were everywhere trying to cover their side.

“I think it was very sacrificial of them,” head coach Olivia Long said. “Bella’s another one that stood out to me where she’s hitting the floor as often as she can and not letting the ball drop, whatever it takes. They’re just really resilient, and they’re so focused on that play and what it takes to get that point.”

Fountain Hills fell behind 19-11 in the fourth set and lost 25-19. The players regrouped and gave everything they had in the fifth set, tying with the Crusaders six different times. Northwest Christian pulled ahead 14-11 and survived one final comeback attempt to win 15-13.

The Falcons fell to 7-3 and hope to get back on track in home games against Bourgade Catholic (Oct. 2) and Chino Valley Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 6 p.m. The Falcons host Camp Verde Thursday, Oct. 12, and play in the Florence Invitational that weekend before facing top-ranked Scottsdale and Northwest Christian at the tail end of the season.

“When we face Northwest again and we face Scottsdale again, I just hope we’ve got all the tools that we need along with the mindset that we can utilize those tools,” Long said. “We know that we are capable, just like we saw tonight.”