<div class="subscriber-preview" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">The Forest Lake Christian Falcons boys varsity volleyball team (4-7, 3-5 league) took a road trip to Grass Valley Tuesday night to battle it out against the Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning (SAEL) Fire Wolves (0-12, 0-7 league) in a Central Valley California League Division 5 match.</p></div><div class="subscriber-preview" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">After suffering a tough 1-3 loss against the Futures Knights (7-2, 6-2 league) Monday night, the Falcons came back with a 3-0 win, beating SAEL in three straight sets (27-25, 25-15, 25-23).</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">From the opening serve, Forest Lake Christian set the tone with accurate ball control and tight defensive coverage, allowing the Falcons to control the and keep SAEL from finding any kind of rhythm.</p><div class="tnt-ads-container text-center" style="min-height: 1px;"><div id="tnt-smart-ad-1" class="tnt-ads dfp-smart-ad" style="margin: 0px auto 40px;"></div></div></div><div id="tncms-region-article_instory_top" class="tncms-region hidden-print" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">For SAEL, the first set showed some promise, but not being able to finish late points hurt them. After just missing a chance to take the early lead, they had a hard time getting back on track as Forest Lake Christian started to find its rhythm.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">The Falcons built an early lead in the first set behind consistent serving pressure and efficient net play. The Fire Wolves struggled to handle the Falcons’ serves, leading to several points.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Senior Michael Brazavon (7) anchored the back row all night, finishing with 21 digs and three aces. The libero’s effort continued an impressive stretch, as he has now recorded 10 or more digs in four consecutive matches, providing consistency and leadership for the Falcons’ defense.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">The second set went a lot like the first, although SAEL had a short run in the middle and grabbed some momentum. Forest Lake Christian didn’t let it last long, though, and responded right away by playing better defense and taking advantage of their chances. They communicated well and cut down on mistakes, which helped them pull ahead again and go up two sets to none.</p></div><div id="tncms-region-article_instory_middle" class="tncms-region hidden-print" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div id="tncms-block-2789253" class="tncms-block"><div class="tnt-ads-container text-center " style="min-height: 1px;"><div id="ad-2789253" class="tnt-ads dfp-ad" data-lazy="true" style="margin: 0px auto 40px; min-height: 1px; min-width: 2px;"></div></div></div></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">With organized defense and steady serving pressure, especially during Brazavon’s strong runs at the line, the Falcons threw off SAEL’s offense. A few solid scoring runs helped Forest Lake Christian create some separation and take the set 25–15.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">The Falcons maintained control going into the third set and showed no signs of letting up. They continued to execute with precision, mixing aggressive attacks and well-timed hits to keep SAEL off balance.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">A few timely blocks at the net shut down any chance of a comeback, and the Falcons closed things out comfortably.</p><div class="tnt-ads-container text-center" style="min-height: 1px;"><div id="tnt-smart-ad-2" class="tnt-ads dfp-smart-ad" style="margin: 0px auto 40px;"></div></div></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">The stats showed it was a total team effort, with players contributing all around. Strong serving runs and solid side-out play kept the pressure on, and good communication on defense helped cut down on mistakes.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">With the victory, the Falcons strengthen their position in league play and built momentum heading into the next stretch of the season. More importantly, the matched showcased their ability to respond under pressure.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: &quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; font-family: Georgia, serif;">The Falcons will host the John Adams Academy Patriots (12-2, 7-0 league) on Tuesday April 7 at 6 p.m.</p></div>