FALLON — Going into last weekend’s Northern 3A Regional Championship in Fallon, the Lowry High School volleyball team went into the tournament with nothing to lose mindset.
Lowry took on South Tahoe in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Vikings beat the Lady Bucks twice this year, but it was a different story on a neutral floor.
Lowry (9-7 Northern 3A, 12-17 overall) dominated from the start and swept South Tahoe 25-18, 25-13 and 26-24 to keep its season alive and kicking.
“That was the best we played all year,” said LHS coach Brandon Eastman. “We knew coming in that they were a team we could beat. We made some changes during the week in practice and it worked for us.”
South Tahoe grabbed the early momentum in the opening set, scoring five of the first six point. The only point for Lowry in that span was a kill by Kyllie Sappington. The Lady Bucks slowly climbed back in the set with a kill from Madison Montero and two more kills by Hannah Hillyer to cut the Viking deficit to 8-7.
Trailing 9-8, Lowry scored the next four points, capped off by a kill by Sappington. The Lady Bucks did not trail after that point. Two points later, Sappington tipped the ball into an open spot on the South Tahoe side of the floor and Brooklyn Waller added a kill to give the Lady Bucks a 16-11 advantage.
The Lowry crowd continued to get louder after Hillyer and Waller blocked a South Tahoe kill attempt to make the score 18-12.
However, the Vikings rallied for four points in a row and forced Lowry to take a timeout. The stop in the action helped the Lady Bucks, who went on a 6-1 run. The winning point came on a serving error by the Vikings.
That momentum carried into the second set, as Lowry raced out to a 14-1 lead, leaving South Tahoe in shock on the floor. The Lady Bucks’ advantage grew to 18-3 after kills by Aimee Brandon and Montero and an ace by Waller.
South Tahoe made a little run to close the gap, but that was ended by a kill by Hillyer. Hillyer and Montero ended the set with a block.
After struggling in the first two sets, South Tahoe grabbed the early lead in the third set and led by as many as seven points on two occasions.
Trailing 15-8, Hillyer started a 6-1 run for the Lady Bucks that ended with a double block by Hillyer and Waller to make the score 16-14.
South Tahoe scored the next point after the timeout, but that lead quickly disappeared as Hillyer answered with three consecutive kills to tie the set at 17. The Vikings hurt themselves with errors, helping the Lady Bucks go in front 20-17.
South Tahoe fought its way back to tie the set at 20, when a tip by Jadyn Eastman put Lowry back in front by a point. The Lady Bucks led 23-21, only to see the Vikings tie the set at 24, before Lowry scored the final two points to win the match.
“I was proud of how we came back from an early deficit,” Eastman said. “We could have easily given up and get ready for as fourth set.”
Lowry falls to Truckee
Lowry had the tough task of taking on the regular season champion in Truckee on Saturday. The winner of the match would stamp its ticket to the state tournament.
The Wolverines won the first two sets 25-18 and 25-22, but the Lady Bucks kept their season alive, claiming the third set 25-15. The fourth set went back-and-forth, before Truckee won 26-24 to avoid the upset.
Lowry, though, injected some excitement into their quarterfinal game against Truckee in the final two sets.
The Wolverines grabbed the early lead, 8-5, with heads-up play at the net from Kelly Cross with her blocking and a kill down the middle of the court and the outside play of Maia Dvoracek, who recorded two kills including a cross-court return.
Lowry, though, began to pull away due to its serving. Sappington stepped in to deliver eight service points including four aces as the Lady Bucks led 20-11. Hillyer was a threat at the net as she blocked two returns and had a kill, while Truckee committed three unforced errors.
The fourth set became a cat-and-mouse chase that saw Truckee rally in the latter stages for a two-point win.
During the first half of the set, the lead changed three times as Truckee labored for a 15-12 lead.
Dvoracek began the set with a kill, while Lowry relied on Hillyer’s blocking. The difference came from serving, though, as the Wolverines' Sara Gran-Nillson recorded four serving points. Lowry received help from Sappington as she served well.
The set went back and forth with two lead changes as Lowry built a 24-21 advantage. Montero and Brittany Jacaway team up for a block that pushed Lowry within one point of winning its second set.
Truckee stormed back, though, as Lowry committed three straight errors, and Dvoracek’s kill that the Lady Bucks couldn’t handle sealed the win for the Wolverines.
Eastman said he was pleased with his middle blockers and cited the play of Hillyer and Montero.
“They gave us a lot of chances to get to the balls” he said.
He said Lowry came out with a specific game plan, trying to slow down the pace of each set. Eastman, though, said the final two sets were exciting game.
“I could not be more proud of this group of girls and the adventure we were able to go on this season,” Eastman said. “Even though things may not have turned out the way we wanted them to, we can hold our heads high for the positive way we carried ourselves and knowing that we left everything we had on the court.”
Lahontan Valley News editor Steve Ranson contributed to this story.
