It was built up as one of the top volleyball match-ups of the season in the Division I-A North. It turned out to be furthest thing from the truth.
The varsity team played one of its best matches of the year Friday night in a 25-16, 25-17 and 25-10 home sweep of Truckee on Friday night. The Lady Bucks and Wolverines came into the night second and third in the league, respectively. Lowry, who clinched a playoff berth and can't finish worse than third place, now has a two-match gap between itself and Truckee.
"We played great," said LHS coach Megan Allen. "That is probably the best we have played offensively and defensively on the same night. The back row played phenomenally. The girls in the back row got everything and passed the ball well. When our passing is on, the girls in the front can hit the ball. The girls were ready to play. It has been a while since we have beaten Truckee and the girls were looking forward to the match."
The first two sets were close at the beginning, but Lowry pulled away at the midpoint on each occasion. There were four ties in the first 16 points of the first set. Truckee led 9-8, but that was quickly countered with a kill by Auri Criddle. The Lady Bucks took an 11-9 advantage on a kill by Meg Montero and the gap widened to 13-9 after a miss hit by the Wolverines.
Truckee closed the gap to 13-10, but it was all Lowry after that. Ashlee Barron started a rally with a tip after the ball bounced through the rafters in the gym. Criddle added an ace later in the set to make the score 18-11 and Montero contributed two kills down the stretch to aid in the win.
Lowry never trailed in the second set and was up by four points at 11-7 off a tip by Montero, forcing Truckee to take a timeout. The Wolverines closed the gap to 12-9, when the Lady Bucks went on an 8-2 run, aided by a kill by Sierra Thiede and an ace by Jillian Albright. Montero had a kill and block in the final four points and Chelsea Herrera and Juliana Velasco had a kill and tip.
Lowry took that momentum and were never threatened in the final set. The Lady Bucks scored eight of the first 11 points and the Wolverines called timeout when Thiede doubled up the score at 12-6 on a kill.
The stop in action did not help Truckee, as Hannah Hillyer and Criddle combined for a block on the next point and Barron added two kills and a tip to increase the score to 17-7. Lowry went on to finish the night on an 8-2 run, which included an ace from Herrera, a kill by Velasco and a kill by Madison Montero.
"I like where we are at right now," said the coach. "The girls have been practicing hard. They are getting better and better. We haven't peaked quite yet. We are still fine tuning some things. It is fantastic to see how we are coming together."
Lowry (10-1 Division I-A North, 23-2 overall) had little time to celebrate the victory with a road trip to Lovelock on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Bucks continued their winning ways with a 25-14, 25-23 and 25-14 victory over Pershing County.
"We enjoy playing Lovelock," Allen said. "Shauna (Bake) does a great job with her girls and they play tough. The girls on both teams know each other well."
Lowry used an 11-0 run in the first set to go in front 15-4, behind two tips from Barron and kills by Velasco and Albright. The Lady Bucks maintained the 11-point advantage at 20-9, before the Lady Mustangs cut the gap top 22-13. Lowry went on to score three of the final four points to win.
The Lady Bucks looked to be on cruise control, leading 11-3 in the second set. Lowry got a dual block from the sisters of Meg Montero and Madison Montero and Madison Montero added a kill on the next point. Albright also had a block during that stretch.
The Lady Bucks saw that lead disappear as the Lady Mustangs went on a 10-1 run to go in front 13-12. Lowry answered with five straight points to lead 17-13, when Pershing County turned the tables and went back ahead at 19-18, forcing Lowry to call timeout. The set was tied 22-22, when Hillyer provided a kill and the sophomore ended the set with another kill two points later.
Lowry scored five of the first six points of the third set on kills by Velasco and Madison Lozano. The Lady Bucks never trailed and pulled away through the middle part of the set. Velasco had three kills and ace in the final five points and Madison Montero ended the match with a kill.
Lowry travels to Fallon on tonight for a 6 p.m. match with Churchill County. Lowry is back home Saturday to host South Tahoe at 1 p.m. The Lady Bucks will wear pink uniforms and the teams will be honoring Breast Cancer Awareness.[[In-content Ad]]
