“I just love this team and I love these girls,” Smith said. “I wouldn’t be doing this for any other team.”

If there was any doubt that school’s volleyball program has become something people want to be a part of, Smith is proving that Cactus Shadows is the place to be among Arizona’s high school teams.

Of course, the Falcons became an elite team under former coach Karen Sitkiewicz, who brought the school two state championships in three years before leaving for a coaching job at Phoenix College.

Smith, who was a part‑time assistant last year, and Michelle Drechsler, a longtime district teacher and coach, were named full‑time coaches last spring. The duo is in charge of a program        trying to defend last year’s state championship with the loss of star graduates Rachel Oligmueller, Lara Kilgore and Courtney Weedman.

The loss of the talented trio  hasn’t lowered expectations. With the core of last year’s team back, the new coaches have been busy in preseason practices putting their own stamps on the program.

The freshmen and junior varsity teams now practice alongside the varsity squad, and those team’s coaches are all considered varsity assistants.

“We don’t want to isolate anybody on any of the teams,” Drechsler said. “We want them all learning together.”

It’s all part   process the coaches hope keeps the program at an elite level.

“We want to win state this year,” Smith said. “There is no other goal.”

The team has quickly taken to Smith, a California native who played at Long Beach State.

“We love her,” senior Sara Pages said. “We’re not rebuilding here.”

For her part, Drechsler is known as one of the biggest supporters of Cactus Shadow’s athletics. The Sonoran Trails Middle School teacher plans to handle the business side of the program.

“It’s been working out great,” Drechsler said. “We’re not stopping.”

She might be right. There might be no stopping the Falcons.

Reach the reporter at jason@thedesertadvocate.com.