With a 4-1 record in the Cascade Conference and overall, the South Whidbey volleyball team is poised for a shot at the state tourney.

The only stumble so far came on Monday, when the team ran into a one-woman wrecking crew named Dionna Kirton, senior slammer for the undefeated team from King’s. Within the first minute or so, South Whidbey was down 0-8 and wasn’t able to score until a full six minutes into the game — an eternity in volleyball.

But sometimes, teams begin a game fighting a reputation, not the reality; King’s was last year’s league, district and state champion.

The Falcons lost in four games: 14-25, 25-20, 16-25 and 9-25.

Falcons Kelsie Dorpat and Allison Wood play on the same club team with Kirton and center Anna Cesari.

Dorpat said the King’s girls told them they were bringing some competition, “because we haven’t seen much up to now,” Dorpat recalled Kirton saying.

“They were defending their state title from last year and felt there was a lot to prove,” Wood added.

Cayla Calderwood said she couldn’t get her block up well enough to defend against Kirton.

“I just think that they were more confident; more ready to play than we were. We need to all realize we have a great team this year.”

Reilly O’Sullivan said the Knights were simply “on their game.”

“They hit the ball hard, and we couldn’t come up with the digs we needed,” she said. “But we haven’t experienced that level of intensity before, so it was good for us. We know what we need to do to step it up, because getting to state is our goal. All of us.”

Calderwood had seven kills, Wood had six and Linden Firethorne had five key blocks. Kirton led the Knights with 26 kills.

“Monday night is exactly what the girls needed; competition against King’s,” said Falcon coach Mandy Jones. “King’s has a very strong team, but so do we.”

She was pleased that the girls took King’s to four games. That the stats could have been better is easily apparent.

“When you come across a big hitter like Kirton, the blockers and defense have to stop her, and that did not happen,” Jones explained. “Our offense did not put up enough kills to even keep up with King’s, and our passing really hurt us. But we hung in there, and the team knows that you have to play to your top potential against a team like the Knights.”

In this sport, position matters, as it governs the movement and flow of the game.

“Where you are positioned on the court during defense and offense is important; you always want to make sure that you cover every hole so the ball doesn’t drop,” Jones explained. “It’s all strategy, and luckily I have a strong group of girls on the bench to fill in when needed.”

The Falcons rebounded big-time on Wednesday, beating Granite Falls 25-15, 25-22 and 25-16.

“We played the Tigers and our number one goal was to have fun,” Jones said.

“I reminded the girls of why they play this sport, why they want to succeed and go to state,” she said.

“We are a great team with a lot of potential for success.”

“We really do have that chance of reaching our goals, but first and foremost, you have to have fun out there on the court.

Brittany Wood had nine digs and seven aces, Dorpat had 24 assists, Firethorne had 11 kills, Allison Wood had 18 kills and Katie Holt had six kills.