“Senior Lauren Johnson warms up during a drill at practice this week. Johnson and her fellow seniors Jenny Saephan and Melissa Poolman hope to lead the team into the district playoffs this fall.Matt Johnson / staff photoBolstered by a big freshman turnout and by more than half a dozen returning varsity starters, the Falcon volleyball team could be state tournament bound by early November.Team coaches Tim Durbin, Jody Clemens, and Jan McNeely selected 12 players from the 16 who tried out for the team last week, adding them to a squad that is so big that it will field a varsity, a junior varsity, and a C-team this season.Led by seniors Jenny Saephan, Melissa Poolman, and Lauren Johnson, the 2001 Falcons are both a team of size and substance. A year after the team came within two games of making it into the state tournament, South Whidbey’s players can see a clear path through their North Cascades Conference opponents to a state tournament showdown.Durbin, who is starting his second year as the Falcon head coach, said his team has the talent to place in the top half of the NCC and, with some luck, to be one of the three District 1 teams to earn a trip to Yakima’s Sundome. However, a state appearance is not a given.It’s definitely not going to be easy, Durbin said.This week, Durbin was firming his varsity lineup. Both Saephan and Poolman are guaranteed jobs as outside hitters, while Johnson will move into graduate Erin Hussey’s setting spot. Sophomore Katy McGillen is the front runner for the middle hitter’s spot, while sophomore Brianna Hussey and junior Lucy Dauman are slated as backups for Johnson. But there will be a number of other girls who will step into the lineup throughout the season’s early going. Durbin said so many of Falcon girls played in spring and summer volleyball leagues that he has a big pool of fit, experienced players.I think the team’s a lot better conditioned this year, he said.Expecting that a playoff spot could come down to horse race between her team and Granite Falls, team captain Melissa Poolman said her team’s bread and butter is its ability to put the ball past other teams.I think our hitting’s going to be strong, she said. “