WINNEMUCCA - After beating Elko in a tournament in Truckee to begin the season, the Lowry High School freshmen volleyball team knew it was in for another tough match as the Indians paid a visit to Winnemucca on Tuesday.
The second meeting was just as good, with Elko escaping with a 17-25, 25-20 and 15-13 win, as the Lady Bucks dropped to 5-2 in the Division I-A North and 8-4 overall.
"We made some little mistakes that we usually do not and that beat us," said LHS head coach Mandy Chaffin. "We had a lot of serve receive errors and that is unusual for us. We had just six girls and they played the entire game and they were tired. I am still happy with the way we played."
A dig by Aimee Brandon helped Lowry tie the opening set at 5-5 and the Lady Bucks did not trail again. With the set tied at 7-7, Lowry went on a 12-3 run, on the strength of two aces by Tiana Herrera, a hit and ace by Brandon and a kill by Jade Moore.
Annaleise Gabica added back-to-back tips into the open floor late in the set and an Elko service error capped off the win for the Lady Bucks.
Both squads traded the lead in the early portions of the second set, with Lowry calling a timeout trailing 8-5. The Lady Bucks closed within two points at 11-9 after a kill by Alexis Allen and an ace by Gabica. However, the Indians went on a 10-3 run to open up a nine-point advantage.
Despite the large deficit, Lowry battled back and used a kill by Brandon and two aces by Herrera to close the gap to 21-20 and forced Elko to call a timeout. After the break, the Indians rebounded and scored the final four points to win the set.
"We were down big in that second game and could have easily mailed it in and get ready for the third game," Chaffin said. "I was proud of how they battled back. The biggest thing we have to work on is not getting down after making a mistake. The girls take it hard and get into a bad mindset. They just have to learn that there will be mistakes and they need to shake it off."
The Lady Bucks appeared to grab control of the third set, scoring the first five points, off a block by Brandon and two aces by Herrera. The Indians, though, fought back to go on a 9-2 run to take a 9-7 lead.
Trailing 11-8, Lowry called a timeout and after the break Elko served the ball into the net. Gabica followed with an ace to close the gap to 11-10, only to see Elko score the next two points. Three consecutive missed serves led to a 14-12 advantage by the Indians, when a block by Brandon kept the Lady Bucks in the match.
However, Elko answered back with a kill to win the match.
Lowry travels to Spring Creek on Saturday for an 11 a.m. match and hits the road on Tuesday to play South Tahoe at 4 p.m.
"We have a busy week ahead of us and I want to see how we rebound," Chaffin said. "I am always a little apprehensive on how we bounce back after a loss. We have to go on the road for three matches in a short amount of time."
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