Sydney Renfro is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Carl Hayden Community High School for AZPreps365.com.

As the volleyball season ended, the Carl Hayden seniors continued to fill the team leadership positions with a goal in mind for everyone. That goal, said head coach Rafael Daniel, was for the Falcons to play as a team. 

Throughout this season, the team worked to improve its communication and teamwork skills. 

“One of our goals was to play as a team,” said Daniel. “A lot of the girls, maybe two or three girls, played together before, where the rest are new to the team.” 

Daniel said that throughout the season, the team came close many times to winning individual sets despite struggling to win matches.

 “At the beginning of the season, nobody really talked,” said Daniel. “At first, they didn't really trust each other, [but] now they trust each other's teammates. They hold themselves more accountable than  before.”

Senior Arabella Bergen believes the team improved this season due partially to Daniel's coaching efforts. “He’s in our corner,” she said. “When the mood’s really dark, he's really good at making everyone feel better.”

Even though it was his first season coaching the team, Daniel continued encouraging and supporting the girls on and off the court. 

“I'm gonna miss the game, [and] I'm gonna miss the excitement and adrenaline I get from getting a really good block,” said Bergen.

This season, she focused on improving her blocks and was proud of how persistent she remained throughout the season.

Team captain Ashley Lazcano will miss playing with co-captain Bryana Lopez. Lazcano is proud of how far she’s come since her first year, but she’s also proud of her teammates.

“All the players, my teammates, grew from their senior year to their freshmen year,” she said. “They all mentally had more and more hope, and they wanted to win.”

Lazcano added that even though the Falcons weren't successful, it didn't affect their effort.

Lopez has seen the team improve its communication, skills, and personality.

“We've all definitely gotten really close,” she said. “This team is actually really close and we have fun with each other. We've all learned how to communicate with each other instead of getting mad.”

The Falcons also got better community suppost as the season progressed.

In the final few matches, the crowd at Falcons' games had more of a presence. Fans encouraged the team. At the team's senior night against Camelback on Oct. 25th, it had a significant amount of people in attendance and a performance from the school's dance team. 

This season, the Carl Hayden seniors not only made memories,  they also encouraged a change in the team's attitude. Due to the team's motivation and support from  coaches and community, they improved in many ways. 

The Falcons finished 0-17. However, they won an invitational match at Barry Goldwater toward the end of their tournament. This win showed the team's continuous improvement while inspiring them to finish the season strong.