The last two unbeaten volleyball teams left in the Division I-A North got together Tuesday night, as Lowry High School had the tough task of traveling to Elko as the Indians were celebrating Homecoming.
In atmosphere that resembled a regional playoff match, Elko came away with a 25-20, 25-18, 21-25 and 25-19 victory to take sole possession of first place.
"They were all pretty good games," said LHS coach Megan Allen. "We came out and them on their heels in the first set and we were playing great. Elko had a couple of great servers and we got caught with them and couldn't get out of the rotation. We couldn't capture that same momentum after that."
Lowry (5-1 Division I-A North), 17-2 overall) used a 7-0 run in the first set to go in front 11-5, but Elko came back with seven of the next eight points to tie the set at 12-12. The two rivals traded runs with the Lady Bucks scoring the next three, only to see the Indians score four in a row. Lowry got as close as 21-20 late in the set, when Elko scored the final four points.
The second set was much of the same, with the teams trading points, with Lowry leading 13-12. Elko made the most sizable run of the set to go up 18-13 and did not trail again. The Lady Bucks closed the gap to 18-16, but the Indians finished the set on a 7-2 run.
Lowry erased a 16-12 deficit in the third set with a 9-0 run to keep the match going. The Lady Bucks could not hold the momentum as the Indians jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the fourth set and held on for the six-point victory.
"Elko is a good team and it was a tough place to play in," Allen said. "I felt we played well. We saw how they serve and its something we can go back and fix in practice."
Juliana Velasco had 15 kills and six blocks on the night to lead the Lady Bucks. Jillian Albright added four kill, Ashlee Barron three and Meg Montero and Sierra Thiede had two kills apiece. Albright added two blocks, as did Auri Criddle and Criddle had a team-high 17 assists.
Five Lowry players had 20 or more digs, with two going over 30. Criddle had 37 digs and Thiede 33. Darion Iturriaga added 29 assists and Albright and Barron had 23 and 21, respectively.
Lowry was at South Tahoe last Saturday and overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat the Vikings 20-25, 20-25, 25-15, 25-18 and 17-15.
"We showed a lot coming back to win the match," Allen said. "We got off to a slow start, but was able to come back for the win. Anytime you get a win on the road it is a good thing."
Albright and Velasco each had nine kills to pace the Lady Bucks, while Madison Montero had five kills. Meg Montero and Thiede had four kills apiece. Lowry had nine blocks on the day, with four them from Velasco. Meg Montero, Albright and Criddle each had two. Criddle had a team-high 29 digs, Madison Montero had 26 and Iturriaga and Thiede had 25 each.
Lowry begins a stretch of five straight matches at home, beginning Saturday at noon.
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