The Fountain Hills High School beach volleyball team started its season 1-1 last week. The Falcons lost 3-2 to Flagstaff on Thursday, Feb. 24, but they won 5-0 against Horizon Honors on Friday, Feb. 25.
Flagstaff is a good team in 4A, and last year the Falcons barely won 3-2 against the Eagles with a senior-heavy lineup. This year, the Falcons are mostly underclassmen, and their top two pairs beat Flagstaff, but the bottom three varsity pairs lost close matches.
In the fifth pair, freshmen Jocelyn Bloedel and Lucia Kalmbach got their first varsity experience. They lost their first set 21-16 and then found themselves down 6-0 at the start of the second set. The freshmen pair fought back and barely lost the second set 21-19.
“They were really able to lock down and execute a game plan,” head coach Peter McGloin said.
“They came back to have a lead. We weren’t able to pull it through at the end, but they were showing glimpses of greatness. We’re having a big range; our ups and our downs are a huge spread right now.”
Bloedel and Kalmbach got their first varsity win on Friday, 21-15, 21-17 at the four spot. Sophomores Eliana Schulze and Emerson Uphoff lost 21-9, 21-13 on Thursday in the four pair, and Uphoff missed Friday’s game due to illness, so the freshmen pair moved up. Schulze and junior Olivia Sopeland won the fifth spot on Friday, 21 -11, 21-9.
“I think another hard thing for today’s game was we just got our pairings on Monday,” Schulze said on Thursday. “We’ve only had two practices together. Everyone is still getting adjusted to who they’re playing with.”
The highest seeded freshman was Kitrick Garman, who was paired with her sister, sophomore Bella Garman, in the three pair. The sisters lost 21-19, 21-13 to Flagstaff, but they beat Horizon Honors 21-6, 21-16.
The Garmans and Bloedel both do club indoor volleyball, and the three had tournaments leading into the season opener. Schulze does a beach club, which she says is rarer.
“They’re all pretty beat down,” Uphoff said. “But they still come out and play fierce.”
Amaya Evans, the lone senior this season, played in the second pair and won both matches so far with sophomore Sydney Boeshans. The two lost their first set against Flagstaff 23-21, and they fought back to win the next two sets 21-18 and 15-11. On Friday, the pair won 21-16, 25-23.
“I didn’t coach or watch their side, but the little bits I did watch was fantastic,” McGloin said. “Amaya is so enjoyable to watch because she plays so hard. She’s already become the best puller on the team, when you’re blocking and have to pull off the net and dig. She goes all out all the time.”
Last year’s first team all-region selection junior Mia Kohoutek leads the Falcons in the first pair, and she’s off to a 2-0 start. Her partner is sophomore Sophie Wickland, and Wickland earned her first two varsity wins this past week. The pair won 21-16, 24-22 on Thursday, and 21-9, 21-9 on Friday.
The Falcons traveled to Gilbert Christian on Monday, Feb. 28, and played the Knights after press time.
The Falcons only have two matches this week, so they will have more practice time for skill work and challenge matches. On Wednesday, March 2, the Falcons host Rancho Solano Prep at Golden Eagle Park at 4 pm Their next match will be a week away on Wednesday, March 9, hosting Payson at 4 pm
The Falcons have challenge matches to move up or down a pair, and the JV players may challenge for varsity spots. The JV squad went 2-1 against Flagstaff, and the young players are refining their skills as much as possible. The Falcons are a young team, but they are malleable and getting better each week.
“A few years ago, when we won the state championships, my sister played here,” Schulze said. “I think a big difference is the middle school training. I think they had a lot more training available. A lot of us got most of our skills on our own. We had to self-teach a lot, and coach Pete is a big part of that. Coach Pete is practically all the skills we know. He’s a very good coach.”
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