Now in its third year, the Fountain Hills High School sand volleyball program continues to grow.

“Last season was a good year,” said head coach Brennan O’Connor.

“We finished the regular season with a 6-1 record and we finished second at the post-season tournament.”

Still in its formative years, the Arizona Interscholastic Association only kicked off the sand volleyball program for Division III a few years back. As a result, a handful of teams are involved and the season is traditionally only a month or so long.

As more schools sign on and more girls come out for the local squad, however, the sport is starting to pick up some steam.

“The girls are more experienced with sand volleyball now,” O’Connor said of his flock of Falcons.

“It is still a new sport, but this will be our third season playing and so most of the girls feel more comfortable with it. I think that experience will help us against some of the newer teams.”

The Falcons’ season began at home yesterday, March 4, in an outing against Queen Creek. Their next competition is on the road at Xavier this Thursday, March 6, at 4 p.m.

With a couple more road games and a short hiatus for spring break, the girls won’t be back home again until March 25, when they host North Pointe at 4 p.m. out of Golden Eagle Park.

This year’s squad looks to be a strong one, as seven athletes are returning from the 2013 team.

“We have two seniors on the team in McKenna Schultz and Katie Paulsen,” O’Connor added.

“We have six juniors, four of which played last year. Then we have five sophomores on the team and only one freshman. It’s nice to have a bunch of new girls playing this season.”

Helping lead the team will be Jalin Yoder and Gabby Mei, who spent most of 2013 as the Falcons’ number one pairing.

“They will be a strong team for us this season and I expect them to have a lot of success,” O’Connor added.

And then there’s Sierra Jarriel, McKenna Schultz, Amanda Barbagallo, Kelly Pederson and Reagan Chalmers, all of which O’Connor pegged as continuing strong assets for the team.

“One thing that our team has done well is our serving,” O’Connor said.

“That is something that we have had success at in sand and indoor volleyball in the past two seasons. If we can really put pressure on our teams trying to serve receive, then we should have a successful season.”

But there’s still plenty of work to be done.

Almost all of the girls are playing with new partners this season and adjusting to each other’s play styles. O’Connor said he expects it will take a bit of time for the chemistry to build, but he’s seeing improvement at every practice.

With a little luck backing the strong foundation of talented players, O’Connor said the team’s goal is to win the championship this season, something he sees the Falcons as having the potential to accomplish.

“The approach to this season is to continually improve,” he added.

“I think our team’s greatest strength is our experience. Our girls have definitely become more comfortable this season because they understand the rules and the game better than they did last season.”

As for local fans, O’Connor said this season serves as a great opportunity to come out and watch some good volleyball in a growing sport.

“Sand is a fun sport to watch and the atmosphere is more relaxed than other sports,” he said.

“We have an experienced team and fans should come and support the local athletes.”