Taking a step toward securing a more favorable playoff position, the South Whidbey High School volleyball team slipped past visiting Cedar Park Christian 3-2 Thursday, Oct. 24.

The Falcons (4-5, 5-8) are now only one game back of Cedar Park Christian (5-4, 10-5) with one match remaining in the battle for third place in the North Sound Conference standings.

The regular season wraps up at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, when South Whidbey plays at last-place Granite Falls (0-9, 3-11) while Cedar Park Christian hosts first-place King’s (9-0, 13-0).

If South Whidbey and CPC tie for third, the Falcons will receive the No. 3 seed, determined by a draw earlier this year.

The No. 3 team will face the Northwest Conference’s No. 2 team in the opening round of the district tournament, avoiding the NWC’s top seed, the opponent of the North Sound Conference’s fourth-place team.

The eight-team district tournament begins at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at the home of the top seeds from each league. A second match will be played Saturday.

The tournament concludes Tuesday, Nov. 5, at Coupeville. The first five teams qualify for the bi-district tournament.

South Whidbey 3, Cedar Park Christian 2

The Eagles cruised to a 25-10 win in the first set, then the Falcons recovered to squeak out a pair of 27-25 games.

Cedar Park Christian again picked up a fairly easy win, taking the fourth set 25-14. And, again, South Whidbey recovered, winning the fifth 15-11.

Kamryn Wilson had 11 kills and four aces, Emma Hodson collected 11 kills and five blocks, Kayla Knauer registered 17 digs and Maya Tschetter added 23 assists.