Tompkins was hyped up and ready for Monday.
There aren’t many firsts left to accomplish for a program that has had an undefeated district championship, regional championship and state final appearance just last year, but Monday presented a unique and fun chance for every member of the Falcons team.

For the first time, the Falcons had the chance to host a playoff game in their home gym, and they didn’t disappoint their fans on the Halloween themed night, sweeping George Ranch (25-19, 25-15, 25-16) in the bi-district round to advance to area.

“It was amazing,” said Tompkins head coach Allison Merrell. “There was no rush, the girl got to get on the court early, got to use their own locker room, this whole environment was so comfortable. Even when we were getting ready you could feel it, and then the fan support was amazing. It was just an awesome experience.”

The Falcons had to fight in the first set. George Ranch jumped out to an early lead and led midway through the set, but Tompkins came back with a strong ending, dominating down the stretch to take it 25-19.

The Falcons settled in from there, not letting George Ranch get into the game at all in the second and third sets and winning them 25-15 and 15-16 to earn the sweep.

“Our serve receive was good and our blocking worked really well tonight,” said senior setter and outside hitter Erica Dellesky. “Those are two of the most important aspects of the game so if you’re doing those well then it’s going to help you a lot. We really executed our game plan exactly like we wanted to.”

One reason that gameplan was so successful was because of the pressure put on them by Tompkins being able to use two setters at any particular time. Dellesky and Caelyn Dumas both switch out between setting and hitting and both were exceptional in the win by confusing and executing well against George Ranch.

“They even confuse me out there,” Merrell said. “There was one point tonight where I tried to yell at one of them about a play and they both looked at me confused because I should have been yelling at the other one. I know that if I can’t keep them straight then I know the other side has a hard time too. But they both just do such a phenomenal job of running the floor and getting the ball where it needs to be.”

The Falcons advance to play Cy-Ridge in the area round, time and date to be determined. Tompkins feels like they’re exactly where they need to be at the moment and are excited to go on another run as they attempt to go deep in the playoffs.

“We just want to keep playing as long as we can, that was the goal last year and that’s what it is again,” said junior middle blocker Simi Elliot. “The most important thing is we have to focus on the game in front of us and keep focused every practice. We’re going to keep working and getting better every day.”