An injury to the Falcon volleyball team’s setter, a rash of errors and a lack of energy all led to South Whidbey’s exit from the postseason Saturday.

Nooksack Valley bested South Whidbey 3-2 in a 1A District 1 tournament elimination match in Lynden. It was a reversal of fortunes for the Pioneers who were booted from the playoffs by South Whidbey last season at the tri-district tournament, with the Falcons punching their ticket to the state tournament.

South Whidbey’s season ended with the loss Nov. 1, a major upset for Falcon head coach Mandy Jones.

“I think we had great expectations as a team and we looked beyond at the next match,” she said, referring to the likely matchup against Cascade Conference rival King’s.

“It was sad to end the season the way that we did,” she added. “It’s still tough and I think it will be tough for a while.”

From the start, however, it looked as if the match was well in-talon for the Falcons (7-7 Cascade Conference, 9-9 overall). South Whidbey cruised through the first set with a quick 25-8 win over Nooksack Valley (3-9 Northwest Conference, 4-13 overall).

The Pioneers rallied in the second set and pushed ahead to win 25-22, tying the match score 1-1. Falcon junior setter Katherine Read, who had been South Whidbey’s main setter and was the only setter in the first two district matches Oct. 29, missed most the next set with a finger injury. She would not return until the fourth set.

South Whidbey rebounded in the third set to take the match lead, 25-21 and appeared on the right track. That was in large part due to reserve setter Kolby Heggenes, a freshman, recording 13 assists in Read’s absence.

That would be South Whidbey’s last win, as Nooksack Valley rolled through the fourth and fifth sets, 25-19 and 15-10.

Despite Jones’ assessment of the match as a loss for South Whidbey because of errors, rather than a win for Nooksack Valley, the Falcons put up big numbers. Seniors Anne Madsen and Abby Hodson powered the offense with 19 kills and 20 kills, respectively, and each had 15 digs. Read set 27 assists. Sara Bryant, the Falcons’ junior libero, had 23 digs and five aces. Sophomore Megan Drake, a middle hitter, had five kills, four aces, two blocks and eight digs.