WINNEMUCCA - The Lowry High School freshmen volleyball team erased any thoughts of a letdown with an impressive 25-9 and 25-5 victory over Sparks on Wednesday night in Winnemucca.
The match was delayed about 20 minutes as the Railroaders were late arriving to Winnemucca. The extra wait did not affect the Lady Bucks, who stayed perfect in league play.
"I was a little nervous during the day that we would play down to their level," said LHS head coach Mandy Chaffin. "I was proud that we did not do that. The girls could have easily regressed, but they came out and played well."
With the first set tied at 2-2, Lowry reeled off seven consecutive points, beginning with a kill by Aimee Brandon. In addition, Tiana Herrera added five aces during that stretch.
The Railroaders closed the deficit to five points, at 14-9, when a kill by Brandon started a run of 11 straight points that helped the Lady Bucks close out the set. Amaya Herrera served the final 10 points of the opening set, which included two aces.
Lowry continued to take advantage of Sparks' poor serve receive to score 11 of the first 13 points in the second set. Amaya Herrera and Brandon each had two aces in that span.
Leading 11-3, Jade Moore got into the serving act with six consecutive service points and two aces to push the advantage to 17-3. Lowry went on to score seven of the next nine points and won the match on an ace by Alexis Allen. Annaleise Gabica led the Lady Bucks with two kills.
"We kept the momentum going and I stress the importance to the girls to take the game as a learning experience. They have done an amazing with that. Their skill level has improved so much and they have surprised me."
Lowry opened Division I-A North play last weekend and completed a sweep of the Lyon County schools. The Lady Bucks were home on Friday, Sept. 13, and beat Dayton 25-13 and 25-18. They hit the road this past Saturday and defeated Fernley 29-27 and 25-8.
"It was a battle to win that first game with Fernley," Chaffin said. "We were down late in the game and came back to tie it up and eventually won. That game showed me a lot about my team. We came out in the second game and dominated Fernley."
Amaya Herrera had four kills against Fernley, while Brandon added three kills and Allen and Moore each had one kill.
Lowry travels to Truckee today for a 4 p.m. match with the Wolverines.
"I am looking forward to playing Truckee," Chaffin said. "I like having the competitive matches. It teaches my girls not let up. They need to learn that all of these that want to beat them. I condition them hard for a reason. That pays off in the end."
[[In-content Ad]]
