The second year of the sand volleyball pilot program has officially wrapped up with the Falcons going 8-2 on the season; 6-1 in regular play and 2-1 in the state tournament to claim second place overall.

According to Coach Brennan O’Connor, it looks like the sport might be around to stay.

“I’ve heard that there are around five teams in the Tucson area that are looking to join next year,” O’Connor said.

“I think there will be a few more teams from the Valley as well, so maybe we can get up to around 15-20 teams by next year.”

Looking back over the season, O’Connor said that the Lady Falcons had a very successful run.

The pairings of Jalin Yoder/Gabby Mei and Sierra Jarriel/Morgan DiFelice only lost matches to the teams from Xavier all year.

“Both of those pairings were very successful and they won the majority of their matches,” O’Connor added.

“Jalin and Gabby ended the season as our top group and they played a good match in the championship against Xavier. They are both only sophomores, so they will be one of the best pairings again next year.”

As for Jarriel and DiFelice, O’Connor said they were one of the better teams in the state, too.

“This is the first year both of those girls played sand volleyball, but they still played very well together and had a good season,” O’Connor said.

“They will both be returning next year as well, so they will look to have another successful season next year.”

Only taking over as head coach for court volleyball this past season, O’Connor said that he really enjoyed coaching the sand version for the first time.

“It was great finishing second at state,” he said.

“Sand volleyball is a nice change from indoor volleyball. It was more laid back and it was nice being outside, enjoying the weather throughout the season.”

Marley Bryniarski is the Falcons’ only senior this season and O’Connor said she was a great leader for the team.

“Having Marley on the team is like having another coach,” he said.

“She is a hard worker and she sets a great example for the younger girls. We will miss having her around next year.”

As for the rest of the small squad, O’Connor said he thought that all of the Falcons’ pairings played well together.

“They all worked well with their partners and everyone really seemed to have fun playing sand this year,” he added.

“I also thought that, as a team, our serving was probably our strength. We earned a lot of points through our serves. Serving is a very important part of sand volleyball and we used that to our advantage.”

O’Connor said that it was pretty easy transitioning from court to sand volleyball this season, as he was working with almost all of the same players from this past fall.

“There were some minor adjustments but, for the most part, it was an easy transition,” he said.

“The players had to learn a few different rules and also use some different skills in sand compared to court, but they did a great job learning the differences quickly.”

In sand volleyball, O’Connor said the players have to use a wider variety of skills whereas in court they might only have to focus on their one specialized position. He said this helped everyone improve on their overall skills, which can only benefit the team once the next hardwood season rolls around next fall.

“I look forward to coaching sand volleyball again next year and think we will have a very good team,” he said.

“There should be a lot more teams next year, which will make for a longer season and be more competitive as well. We return all of our players except for one, too, so we should be able to compete for the championship again.”