Jacob Seymour is an ASU journalism student covering Carl Hayden High.

Carl Hayden's girls volleyball record may not reflect how its season is playing out through its first six games. The Falcons on Wednesday night worked on the little details from set to set.

The Falcons have spent the early parts of their season traveling across the Valley to play some of the best teams in the state, specifically working on receiving hard hit balls, which could serve them well in regional play.

Carl Hayden’s final non-regional game, which is referred to as “freedom games” within the program, took place at Red Mountain, where the Falcons (0-6) lost 3-0 to the Mountain Lions (7-5). The scoreboard showed a lopsided outcome, but Carl Hayden gained valuable experience that couldn’t be earned elsewhere.

“We built it as we got to Game 3, so we got stronger with each game,” Carl Hayden coach Andrew Scott said. “We definitely had to figure out our defense in Game 1 to get our passes up, but once it clicked with our libero getting loud, communicating in Game 3, we started to put some points on that board. We know that they're a challenging team, so it was nice to finally get there. We just wish it would have happened sooner to compete with them.”

Scott’s squad progressed as the match went on by finding a way to score on its own, avoiding its reliance on Red Mountain’s errors to get points. In the first set, two of the Falcons’ five points came from their offense, while the second and third sets saw an increase of five and four points, respectively.

“We're playing more hard teams, difficult teams,” sophomore setter/outside hitter Jatoya Washington said. “So we're building as a team, and during practices, too, we build as a team.”

The Mountain Lions were led by sophomore outside/opposite hitter/setter Sereniti Johnson, obtaining three of her nine service aces in the first set, which hindered the Falcons' offense. Johnson's strong performance was key in Red Mountain’s win, but Carl Hayden senior libero Britzia Arguelles attempted to limit the blow with her defense, a trait she has developed since freshman year.

“She's found her voice,” Scott said, explaining how Arguelles has had the largest growth during his three-year tenure.

“She was very quiet at first, and she's found her mojo. She's a defensive specialist. She owns it. When we vote in our region, she was voted the best libero out of all those schools, ahead of those schools last year when we were in 5A. Coaches recognized her. They saw her defensive capability, and I've watched her now find her voice. So, she's matching that with her skill.”

The Falcons experienced a lot of growth, but the team still needs to improve.

“Well, we needed to communicate,” Arguelles said. “We needed to find ourselves like in our first two games.”

“The ownership of the roles, knowing volleyball as a sport, not just park play, getting the ball over but being an outside hitter, being a middle hitter, being a libero,” Scott said. “So taking ownership of those roles (is important), because that's where the skills start to be applied. And then you can use them.”

Carl Hayden’s stretch of freedom games has concluded, but the experiences from those games must be remembered and acted upon during regional play.

“Pointing out how the game's progressed and then take where we ended at Game 3 today, bring that to Game 1 on Tuesday,” Scott said. “And then if we match it there, then by Game 3, we'll be taking those wins, and then a match will come out of it.”