The last time the Lowry High School volleyball team and Truckee played in Winnemucca, it was last November, with the winner advancing to the state tournament. The Wolverines upset the Lady Bucks on that day.
The long-awaited rematch took place on Friday night, but it provided the same outcome. Truckee used a dominating first set to take and early lead and went on to the 25-15, 23-25, 25-17 and 26-24 win.
Senior Juliana Velasco scored three of Lowry’s first four points in the opening set to keep the Lady Bucks close. A kill by fellow senior Sierra Thiede kept the score at 6-5, only to see Truckee go on an 8-1 run to go up 14-6. The Wolverines continued to dominate the set and led by as many as 12 points at 20-8.
Despite kills by Velasco and Ashlee Barron, Truckee raced out to another quick 5-2 advantage. The Lady Bucks gained momentum midway through the set off a block by Jillian Albright and Hannah Hillyer. However, Albright, Lowry’s top setter, saw minimal time after that with an injury to her hand. A kill by Chelsea Herrera and Hillyer brought Lowry within a point at 18-17,
The Wolverines slowly pulled away once again, and led 23-20, forcing Lowry to call a timeout. The break in the action worked, as Truckee served into the net on the next point. That started a 5-0 Lowry run, with Thiede ending the set on a kill.
Behind play of Brooklyn Waller, Velasco and Barron, Lowry kept the third set close, when Truckee broke a 7-7 tie with a 12-2 run and never looked back. The Lady Bucks got no closer than seven points from there.
Lowry started strongly in the fourth set, starting with an ace by Kepa Bengochea. A dual block by Hillyer and Thiede and a kill by Thiede gave the Lady Bucks a 7-3 lead.
Truckee battled back to lead 22-20 and helped out Lowry when it served into the next point. That allowed Velasco to come in the front row on her rotation and the senior provided three consecutive kills to put the Lady Bucks in front 25-23. With set point in hand, another kill went just wide, tying the match. Truckee answered with the next two points, winning the match on a block.
Lowry crushes rival Elko
Lowry traveled to Elko last Wednesday and easily dispatched the defending regional champions in three sets, 25-9, 25-7 and 25-18.
The Lady Bucks jumped out to an 11-point advantage in the first set and the only Elko point came off a Lowry block, where the ball landed out of bounds. The Lady Bucks increased the margin to 17-5 and never looked back.
Elko held a 4-3 lead in the second set, but Indian miscues led to another massive run by the Lady Bucks. Lowry went up 23-7 after Elko’s setter was called for a double touch three times in a row.
The Indians picked up the play in the third set and stayed point-for-point with the Lady Bucks. However, with the set tied at 16-16, Lowry ended the match on a 9-2 run.
Lowry (14-7 overall, 5-2 Division I-A North) travels to Fernley on Friday for a 6 p.m. start and return home Saturday to host Churchill County at noon.
