The 2013 volleyball season is set to begin tomorrow night, Sept. 5, with an away match in Wickenburg beginning at 6 p.m. According to head coach Brennan O’Connor, the local ladies are ready to rise to the challenge.

O’Connor started working with the local squad in 2012, a season of which he was rather proud.

“Our overall record was about 20-13, so we did pretty well,” O’Connor said.

“We had a really tough schedule last year and we barely missed out on going to state. We played some of the top teams in the state.”

O’Connor said that the teams the Falcons lost to last season were top-10 squads, and the Fountain Hills team even bested several teams that had the opportunity to continue on into the post season.

Due to how sectional points were tabulated, however, the Falcons’ season ended early.

“But we have a lot of people back this year, so hopefully we can build off that good record and make another go at state,” O’Connor added.

With 2012 being his first year with the Falcons, O’Connor said there was actually a very shallow adjustment curve.

“I thought it went great,” O’Connor added.

“Everyone had a good rapport with each other and they were a really good group to work with. They all work hard in practice and they all have good attitudes, so I really enjoyed it.”

Strengthening that bond was O’Connor’s first season at the helm of the sand volleyball team this past spring, too.

“It was nice to get that chance to work with them some more, see them play more and everything,” he added.

“It was also good to give them another opportunity to keep working and it gave me more time to learn more about them. I think that will help in this season as well.”

With a few weeks of practice under their belts, O’Connor said the Falcon squad is coming along nicely this season. The 2012 group was rather young, and now all of those players are coming back stronger and more skilled than ever.

“I can definitely tell that we have a lot of individuals who have improved their skills a lot,” O’Connor said.

“Jalin Yoder, for instance. Even though she was one of our best players last year, I can tell that she’s getting smarter and hitting the ball a lot harder. Gabby Mei, our setter, has improved a lot, too, and she’s a lot quicker now. It’s the same with a lot of the girls. They’ve made a lot of improvements over the past year.”

This year’s roster features a large number of returners with only one starter exiting the team due to graduation.

O’Connor said that speaks well for the chemistry this season, as the girls have become familiar with each other’s play styles.

As with last season, however, O’Connor said that the Falcons’ passing is need of the most attention, something the girls are working on in their early-season practices.

“If we can get our passing and serve receives down, I think we’ll be good,” he added.

“We have some good hitters. Now we just need to get them set up so they can get those hits.”

On the flip side, O’Connor said that the team’s serves continue to be one of their strong points.

“Another thing I’m really impressed with this season is our attacking,” O’Connor said.

“I think we’re going to try to run a few more plays this year, offensively. Last year we only did a couple basic sets. This year, since they’re working together better, I think we’re going to be able to do some different things.”

After tomorrow’s season opener in Wickenburg, the Falcons will spend the weekend at Payson competing in their annual tournament Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6-7.

The girls will finally play in front of the home crowd when they welcome Coolidge next Tuesday, Sept. 10, for a home match beginning at 6 p.m. They’ll be back on the road the following evening for another 6 p.m. match-up in Florence.

While the Falcons will be playing against some familiar faces this season, O’Connor said that another sectional shift will see the Lady Falcons taking on some new adversaries.

“We’re actually traveling a lot more this year, not playing as many teams from the Valley area,” he added.

“We have three different matches when we’ll have to travel over three hours away. We’ll be traveling more, but we’ll be playing a lot more teams that compete at a similar level. Last year we played a lot of top private schools and, this year, not so much.”

Helping keep the team in order this season will be his team captains, Jalin Yoder, Haley Braun and Gabby Mei.

“They all have some good experience on the team and the rest of the team really looks up to them,” O’Connor said.

“The team kind of feeds off of those three. When they’re working hard and have a positive attitude, the rest of the team does, too. They’re also really good at motivating everyone.”

O’Connor said that the team’s initial goal is to make it to state this season but, more than that, he said he feels the 2013 roster has the potential to do very well in the post season.

“We just want to make a run and see how far we can go,” he added.

“We’re going to be a pretty good team this year and should be able to get a lot of wins. Everyone should come out and support us. We’re going to bring something fast, new and exciting.”