WINNEMUCCA - For two sets on Tuesday night, everything seemed to be going the way of the Lowry High School varsity volleyball team.
The Lady Bucks won the first two sets over its rival Spring Creek by identical scores of 25-20, and looked as if they were on their way to their first Division I-A North victory of the season.
However, the tenacious Spartans grabbed the last three sets 25-21, 26-24 and 15-9 to knock off the Lady Bucks, in a marathon match that lasted over two hours.
"We came out and played great in the first two sets," said LHS head coach Bob Rice. "We dug ourselves big holes in the third and fourth sets and were still able to come back. We had a nice lead in the fifth set and let it slip away. A majority of the girls on the team are sick with colds. I am not sure if fatigue played a role or not."
The first set featured three ties, the last coming at 11-11, after an ace by the Lady Bucks' Rachel Sigurdson. Her second consecutive ace gave Lowry a 12-11 advantage - one it would not give up in the rest of the set.
The Lady Bucks (3-16 overall, 0-7 Division I-A, 0-1 Ruby Mountain) led by as many as five points at 21-16, when the Spartans cut the margin to two at 22-20. Lowry freshman, Juliana Velasco followed with a kill to put the lead back to three points and provided the winning point of the set on her second kill of the match.
Each school shared the advantage in set two, with Lowry gaining a two-point advantage at 8-6 off a block by Jessica Jensen and a tip by Kylee McClellan.
The momentum shifted after that, with Spring Creek going on an 8-4 run to lead 14-12. Consecutive kills by Lowry's Jensen and McClellan tied the set at 14-14.
Two more ties followed at 16-16 and 17-17, when Lowry took over after a combination block by Thiede and Velasco. On the next point, Thiede provided a kill for the Lady Bucks, giving them a 20-17 lead. Lowry went on to score five of the last eight points to win the set.
The Lady Bucks had to fight their way back from a slow start in the third set, where the Spartans scored eight of the first 11 points, including six in a row to start out.
Lowry crept back into the set at 10-6, off a kill by Velasco and a dig by Shelby McKinnon that dropped on the Spring Creek side of the floor. Trailing by three points at 16-13, the Lady Bucks provided a run to tie the set after kills by Sigurdson, Velasco and an ace by McClellan.
Lowry took its first lead at 19-18 after a kill and ace by Velasco, and maintained that advantage to 21-21. The Lady Bucks' momentum ended there as the Spartans reeled off four straight points for the win.
The fourth set was a near carbon-copy of the previous one, with Spring Creek racing to a 9-1 lead. The Spartans never trailed, but had to hold off a furious Lady Bucks' rally. Lowry came back to tie the set at 19-19, after two straight aces by Thiede.
Lowry tied it up again at 24-24 on an ace by Sigurdson, only to see the Spartans scratch out the final two points and earn the win.
"We fought back and got it close both in the third and fourth sets," Rice said. "We had our chances to win the match."
Trailing 2-0 in the fifth and deciding set, Lowry fired off six points in a row to seemingly take control. However, the Lady Bucks could not hold on to the advantage as the Spartans went on a 12-2 run to go up 12-8 and never looked back.
"We were able to get the lead and were not able to finish," said the coach. "We have to be able to finish when we have the chance."
Lowry travels to Battle Mountain on Saturday for a 1 p.m. start with the Longhorns. The Lady Bucks make the trip to Elko on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. match.
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