It may be the week of October, but the gym at Lowry High School on Tuesday night resembled a state championship atmosphere as the Lady Buckaroo volleyball team took on Elko in a battle for the top spot in the Division I-A North.
The Indians won the first match-up in four sets in Elko and entered undefeated in league play. When the night was done, there was no team left unblemished in the Division I-A North.
Lowry (14-1 Division I-A North, 27-2 overall) raced out to a 2-0 set lead but had to hold on for a 25-18, 25-16, 17-25, 18-25 and 15-8 victory. However, if the Lady Bucks and Indians remain tied for the league lead at the end of the regular season, Elko will earn the No. 1 seed by virtue of winning five of the nine sets the two schools played this year.
"That was a lot of fun tonight." said LHS coach Megan Allen. "It was a great atmosphere to play volleyball in. The girls came out and played great in the first two sets. You have to give Elko credit for coming back, they are a good team. We had some girls show up in the fifth set and we were able top pull away."
Lowry raced out to a 9-2 lead in the opening set, forcing Elko to call a timeout. After the break in the action, the Indians were able to cut the deficit to 10-6, but the Lady Bucks' Sierra Thiede used two kills to put Lowry up five points on two different occasions.
Later in the first set, Lowry used a kill by Auri Criddle and a miss hit by Elko to go in front 16-10. The Lady Bucks took their largest lead of the set at 18-11 off a kill by Ashlee Barron and a tip by Criddle. Jillian Albright closed out Elko with two straight aces.
Elko scored three of the first four points of the second set, when a tip by Albright tied the set at 3-3. The Lady Bucks scored the next point and did not trail again. Midway through the set, Lowry used two kills by Meg Montero and a kill by Criddle to push the advantage to 17-10.
The Indians called timeout at the point, but it did not help as Thiede came out with an ace and Madison Montero and Juliana Velasco added a pair of kills down the stretch. Two errors by Elko, allowed Lowry to close out the set.
Elko turned the tables and scored the first four points of the third set and never looked back. The Lady Bucks got a kill and an ace from Barron to cut the deficit to 6-3, only to see the Indians go on an 8-3 run to lead 14-6. Lowry got as close as 16-11 on a kill by Meg Montero, but the Indians pulled away from there.
The fourth set was back-and-forth for the first 12 points, when Elko used a 4-0 run to go in front 10-6 and did not give the lead up. Trailing 18-11, Lowry scored three points in a row, two of those off a kill by Criddle and an ace by Albright. Elko pulled away from there to send the match to the fifth set,
The Indians scored three of the first four points of the fifth set, but the fortunes quickly turned. After getting one point back, Thiede followed with consecutive kills and Velasco added a kill to put the Lady Bucks 5-3.
"We took a big deep breath before the fifth set, knowing that we could beat them," Allen said. "We have been working hard in practice. We have been doing drills where I have the girls laying down and they been getting on their feet and work at getting to the ball."
A dual block by Meg Montero and Thiede kept Lowry in front by three points and Thiede all but put Elko away in a three-point stretch with two kills and a tip to make the score 11-7 and forcing Elko to take a timeout. The Indians scored the next point, but it was its last, as Meg Montero notched a kill on the next point and an Elko hitting error ended the match.
"The goal going into the fifth set was to stay on the offensive," Allen said. "We didn't want to play with just defense and our defense was great. We needed to set the pace and we did that. I am extremely proud of my girls and how they are playing right now."
Lowry traveled to Spring Creek on Wednesday and beat the Spartans in three sets. The Lady Bucks close out the regular season Saturday at Truckee at 2 p.m.
Those two teams will see each other in the opening round of the Division I-A North Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 8, in Winnemucca at 2 p.m. Elko and Dayton will play at noon and the championship is set for 4 p.m.
The top two teams advance to the state tournament to be held at Hug High School in Reno on Friday, Nov. 14, and Saturday, Nov. 15.
"We are excited to be at home for the tournament," Allen said. "We need to beat Truckee and hopefully get another chance at playing Elko."[[In-content Ad]]
