The goal is to win every match.
Before traveling to Truckee last Saturday, the Lowry High School volleyball team did it 27 times in 29 tries.
Coming off an emotional five-set win over league-leading Elko and a sweep of Spring Creek in back-to-back days, the Lady Bucks traveled to snowy Lake Tahoe to play the Wolverines in a match that was originally scheduled for September, but postponed due to the King Fire.
Lowry swept Truckee when the two teams played in Winnemucca, but the Wolverines came ready to play on senior day and handed the Lady Bucks just their third loss of the season 25-23, 25-27, 25-12, 25-22 and 15-11.
"I am happy that we were able to get that kind of match," said LHS coach Megan Allen. "It was a long trip up there and we had a number of girls that was under the weather. They were still ticked off when they came to practice on Monday. I like that they are mad. But, we have to get back to being focused and get ready for them again on Saturday."
Four of the five sets were close throughout, but Allen said Truckee's tipping game played a big role in the match.
"They tipped on us like crazy," said the coach. "They were finding every hole on the floor in between the girls and we could not stop it. We finally figured it out at the end, but it was too late."
After dropping the opening set by two points, Lowery rallied in the second set to win by two points, even though the schools had to go into extra time.
Truckee never let Lowry in the third set, but the Lady Bucks battled back in the fourth to take a narrow three-point victory.
"I am not sure what happened in that third set," Allen said. We have done that a couple of times. I was happy to see us come back in the fourth set."
Truckee came back in the finale to pull off the upset, but the loss did not affect Lowry's playoff status.
"Truckee got some girls back and played better than they did the first time in Winnemucca," Allen said. "We weren't overlooking them."
Darion Iturriaga had 43 digs on the day, which was two off her state record she set a season ago in Truckee. Her total from Saturday is now second most in Division I-A and third most in state history. Lowry had 189 digs on the day, with Sierra Thiede adding 37, Auri Criddle 27, Jillian Albright 24 and Madison Montero 18. Criddle also had a team-high 19 assists to go with five kills.
Velasco had a double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs and Thiede had eight kills. Montero and Criddle had five kills apiece.
Lowry (14-2 Division I-A North, 27-3 overall) will get its rematch with Truckee on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the semifinals of the Division I-A North Regional Championship in Winnemucca. Elko will play Dayton at noon to kickoff the day, with the championship set for 4 p.m.
The two winners advance to the NIAA State Championships on Friday, Nov. 14, and Saturday, Nov. 15 at Galena High School in Reno. The Lady Bucks last played in the state championships in 2006, when it lost to Yerington. Lowry won the state title in 2005, the only one in school history.
"We are excited about Saturday and looking forward to playing Truckee again," Allen said. "The girls want to get to state this year."[[In-content Ad]]
