Crucial season final faces Falcons Monday

"Erin Hussey keeps the offense rolling Thursday, making one of her 28 assists during the match.Matt Johnson / staff photoThe Falcon volleyball team won a crucial contest Thursday by beating Granite Falls 3-1 in the final home match of the year.Last night was huge and Monday is just as huge, said coach Tim Durbin. As the regular season winds down, teams in the North Cascades Conference are jockeying for playoff positions.The first two teams enter district automatically, while third through sixth face crossover matches with another league. Thus a high seed is critical to district tournament hopes.Against Granite, the Falcons won 15-11, 16-14, 9-15, 15-12, and gained the inside track to third place in the conference. All the Falcons have to do now is win their final game Monday at Nooksack Valley to assure themselves of sole possession of third place and a top seed going into post-season play.Durbin doesn't want to contemplate losing to Nooksack Valley. If the Falcons lose Monday and Granite Falls wins, there will be a three-way tie for third. There will be some sort of tiebreaker thing, he said. South Whidbey is 4-3 in league play while Nooksack Valley is 5-2.Erin Hussey led the Falcons in the impressive win over Granite. She had a great match, said Durbin, with 28 assists and 13 kills. Melissa Poolman added 11 kills and 10 digs, Jenny Saephan 10 kills and 7 digs, and Jamie Nelson 13 digs and 3 kills. "

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