Sticking it out through a difficult season, the Lady Falcons concluded their season with a 2-12 league record; however, they had a winning record including the pre-season, with a 19-16 record.

Saratoga qualified for Division Three of CCS, which is determined by the number of people in the competing school.

The Lady Falcons lost in the first round of CCS with a loss to Valley Christian on Nov. 15 in four games: 15-25, 17-25, 25-21 and 22-25. Valley Christian was ranked second and Saratoga was seventh. They struggled with the first two games, but passing improved in the next two.

“It was probably one of the best games we’ve had, but we just couldn’t pull it off,” said junior libero Emily Baba. “We did a good job trying to rally back again.”

Saratoga defeated Monterey High School on Nov. 12 in their first CCS match in four games: 25-16, 25-9, 21-25 and 25-12. The Lady Falcons prevailed even without senior middle Kiersten Dolbec and senior outside hitter Katherine Moran, who were unable to play this match because injuries and other reasons. Junior outside hitter Nicole Gragnola filled in Dolbec’s position.

The players agree that they have much room for improvement in their passing game. The players found that their defense was the weakest part of their game, with poor passing contributing to most points lost. Saratoga’s strong front row offense proved to be the leading reason for their two wins, blocking several of their opponents’ attempts and creating plays with their sets and hard spikes.

At the end of this year, however, Dolbec, the key to the Lady Falcons’ front row, will graduate, weakening the offensive attack. To make up for this loss, the team will have to work on covering the holes in its defense and find another dominant player to plug up the middle.

“Most of the other teams have graduating seniors this year, and we’re a pretty young team, so we’ll probably have a stronger season next year,” said junior opposite hitter Chelsea Sabella.