Falcons rally for 3-set victory in first co-ed VB home matches at FCA

To say Faith Christian Academy's co-ed volleyball home debut on Monday was exciting is an understatement.

The JV Falcons rallied from a first-set loss and staved off not one but two match points to beat West Chicago Leman Middle School's 7th-grade A squad 20-25, 25-20, 17-15 while the varsity Falcons lost to West Chicago's 8th-grade A team 15-25, 20-25 but delivered numerous positive moments against a talented opponent, including a 15-14 victory in an extra third set. Good work, Falcons!

FCA's varsity squad battled a tall and athletic Wildcat team in the first match. West Chicago used its height and leaping ability to fire tips and spikes at the Falcons throughout the match. Faith came out a little tentative and nervous, struggling to cover some of those tips, but countered with some solid passing, serving and spikes of their own to give West Chicago a stiff challenge and defeat the visitors in a third set. Jay Stream Middle School, West Chicago and the rest of Faith's opponents this winter are all A-level teams, but the Falcons so far are competing well with this level of competition and showing signs of growing into a fantastic squad.

Anna Verhage led FCA with 5 kills, 6-7 serving and 9 passes to setter. Anna's terrific all-around play earned her the hustle award, while Ben Riner and Mackenzie VanDerSnick shared the best attitude award. Ben went 5 for 6 serving with 4 kills and 5 passes to setter, while Mack was 5 for 6 serving with 2 kills and 5 passes to setter as well.

The JV Falcons faced a challenging all-7th-grade opponent, falling behind 17-8 in the first set. But FCA began adjusting to the level of competition and playing with confidence, cutting West Chicago's lead to 21-20 before the Wildcats prevailed to win the set. But by then FCA had found its footing and led from start to finish in the second set, winning 25-20 to force a third set.

The final set was a fun see-saw affair. West Chicago moved ahead 3-0 early before Faith rebounded to take a 5-4 lead. FCA expanded its lead to 13-9 before the Wildcats scored the next five points for a 14-13 edge. But Faith fought off match point at 14-13 and again at 15-14, then won the last 2 points to grab a thrilling, hard-earned victory. The Falcons showed great teamwork, poise and moxie to snatch the win! Tremendous performance by everyone on the team!

Paige "Broadway" Petty earned the hustle award with a standout performance, delivering two big serves to clinch the match and doing a terrific job of moving to the ball, passing to setter, covering the court and passing and spiking several balls for winning points. Cole "Money" Schulze, Josiah Gartner and Grace "Hammer" Hansen shared the best attitude for excellent all-around play, while Ethan, Taylor, Bryce, Julia, Mikey and Adam all came up with key passes, serves, tips and spikes to help FCA's cause!

On a personal note, seeing the guys and girls warming up and representing the school on the volleyball court today was tremendously satisfying and encouraging to Mrs. Weeks and me. Thank you to our pioneering players and parents for making this pioneer program possible. The girls and guys are doing an excellent job of working together as a team in 2 for 1 fashion, and it's especially exciting to watch the guys playing competitive volleyball for the first time. They seem to be really enjoying this terrific sport and have made outstanding progress in four short weeks. This new program's future is very bright! Thanks for being an integral part of it.

FCA practices till 5:15 p.m. Thursday and from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Monday to prepare for our next matches on February 18 at St. Laurence School in Elgin. The Falcons play St. Laurence's 8th-grade boys squad at 4:30 p.m. followed by St. Laurence's 6th-grade team at 5:30. Our 8th- and 7th-grade girls and Osten and Ben will play in the 8th-grade match, and our other 4th-, 5th- and 6th-grade players will play in the nightcap, so they'll be very busy next Tuesday.