The sand volleyball team’s 33-match winning streak started back in 2017 came to an end this past week, but in a way head coach Pete McGloin said he is comfortable with it.

The Lady Falcons played their first game of last week against Arete Prep on Tuesday, April 16. FHHS won the match in five sets.

The next match for Fountain Hills was on April 17 against longtime rival Valley Christian. The Lady Falcons fell in that match, 3-2.

Fountain Hills sand volleyball has now entered into the postseason, playing its first playoff game against Mohave on Tuesday, April 23.

If the Lady Falcons proved victorious in the Mohave match, they will play in the quarterfinals today, Wednesday, April 24, at Golden Eagle Park starting at 4:30 p.m.

Arete

The Lady Falcons’ first game of the week went much like most of their other matches this season. All five pairs won and none of them allowed their opponent to get more than 10 points in a set.

Head coach Pete McGloin said that the wind was also strong that day, giving the Lady Falcons another chance to practice with factors outside of their control.

Valley Christian

While having a 33-match streak is an amazing feat, it can be a double-edged sword and McGloin said he was starting to see the traps that his team might fall into.

“Me and the other coaches were just noticing that we were declining,” McGloin said. “Declining, as far as the effort and focus levels were concerned, and we were becoming a little complacent. Many times in the past we learned from our losses and that is what propelled us to being successful at the end of the year. So our message afterward was, if we learn from this loss, it can be the best thing to ever happen to us.”

Valley Christian, who had the home turf advantage along with the excitement of their own senior night, struck fast and hard against Fountain Hills.

The early aggression from Valley sent FHHS into a scramble that the Falcons were not able to recover from.

However, McGloin said he was encouraged by the practice that his team had the next day, following the loss.

“We had a team meeting the next day and we responded so well,” McGloin said. “It was one of the best practices we have seen. So if that team shows up this week, the one that was at Thursday’s practice, good luck to everyone else.”