The Lowry High School volleyball team returned to the scene of its last loss of 2013, looking for a different outcome the second time around.
The Lady Bucks began play in the Division I-A North on Friday, Sept 11, in Dayton. The Dust Devils knocked Lowry out of the regional playoffs on their way to winning the regional title and finishing second at the state championships to Faith Lutheran.
Lowry earned its revenge with a 25-22, 16-25, 25-19 and 25-20 victory over Dayton.
"This was a match our girls were looking to play ever since last year," said LHS coach Megan Allen. "It was nice to go back on their home floor and win. The girls were motivated and ready to play. What helped us win the match was that we stayed consistent."
Lowry (14-1 overall, 2-0 Division I-A North) pounded out 39 kills on the day, led by Juliana Velasco and Auri Criddle with 12 and 11, respectively. Sophomores Madison Lozano and Hannah Hillyer added eight and four kills, respectively. Velasco added 25 digs and seven blocks and Hillyer had nine digs and four blocks.
The defensive effort continued from Sierra Thiede with 42 digs and Darion Iturriaga had 39 digs. Jillian Albright led the Lady Bucks with 12 assists.
"We were with out three players (two starters) and the girls played great," Allen. "The sophomore stepped up so well and they were tremendous and our experienced players did their job. It was a total team effort."
Lowry closed out the perfect weekend with a 25-8, 25-14 and 25-8 rout of Fernley last Saturday, for its 14th win in 15 matches on the season.
"I was pleased that we didn't play down to them," said the coach. "We looked at that we need our 25 points and get there as quick as possible. It's hard a times to keep the motivation going at times when you play a match like that."
Hillyer finished the day with 11 digs, five blocks and four kills. Velasco added nine digs, seven kills and a block.
"Hannah came in as a sophomore and filled the role of a senior on the roster," Allen said. "She played outstanding all weekend. Juliana controlled the net like she usually does."
Thiede had 15 digs and five kills and Lozano had a team-high five aces to go with 16 digs. Brooklyn Waller and Criddle each had six assists and Waller added 11 digs.
Lowry traveled to Sparks on Wednesday and results were not available at press time. The Lady Bucks are back on the road tonight to play Truckee at 6 p.m.
"That is going to be a big test for us," Allen said. "Truckee has always had a solid program. We came close to beating them up there last year. We should be able to match up with, we just need to score and be consistent in all aspects of our game."
Lowry makes its home debut on Tuesday against Churchill County starting with the freshmen at 4 p.m. Lowry volleyball will be recognizing all junior high and middle school students who attended the Spike Frog Volleyball Camp this summer on Tuesday.
The Lady Bucks are also going to have themed matches throughout the season. Oct. 10 vs Dayton will be black out for Homecoming. Fans are encouraged to wear blue and gold on Oct. 17 versus Truckee and Oct. 28 against Elko. Lowry will honor breast cancer awareness on Oct. 25 against South Tahoe.[[In-content Ad]]
