Even though the Lowry High School volleyball team started its season at the Yerington Invitational with five wins in six matches, head coach Brandon Eastman believes there is room for improvement with his squad.
“For the first weekend, I was actually pretty pleased with what I saw,” Eastman said. “I liked the way we competed. I am sure it being the first weekend, there were some nerves on the court. I think there were some girls feeling pressure to perform. We had a lot of ups and downs. We had a hard time sustaining a high-level play throughout an entire set and match. Overall, I am happy with where we are at. I think we are much further along at this point than we were last year."
The Lady Bucks opened with four wins on Friday, Aug. 25, starting with a 25-8 and 25-17 victory over Coleville, Calif. Lowry knocked off another California school in Los Molinos 25-16 and 25-8 to be perfect in pool play.
Lowry moved into the next round of pool play with a 25-8 and 25-14 win over Virgin Valley of the Southern 3A.
The Lady Bucks completed the undefeated first day with a 25-11 and 25-11 win over Hug of the Northern 4A.
Lowry moved into the Gold Bracket on Saturday, Aug. 26, and took on league rival South Tahoe in its first match. The Lady Bucks knocked the Vikings out of the Northern 3A Regional Championships last year.
The two squads are looking to battle for a high playoff spot in this year’s regional playoffs.
Lowry collected a narrow 26-24 victory in the first set, but South Tahoe came back to even the match at 1-1 with a 25-22 victory in set two. The Vikings took that momentum into the third set and built an 8-3 lead and went on to win 15-8.
“We won all eight sets on Friday and knew the competition was going to be a little bit lower,” Eastman said. “We talked about maintain our mental focus and taking care of our side of the net. We did not want the other team to dictate the play of the game. We let our foot off against South Tahoe and let them back in the match. South Tahoe has a great middle at the net and has a girl that just committed to Sonoma State. She is tough and we had no answer for her. They run their offense through her. That was the difference. We got off to a good start in the second set and after South Tahoe called as timeout, we missed a serve and all our momentum was gone. We got on the floor for the third set and our team morale was done. The thing we need to work on is overcoming adversity. That was really the only time I was disappointed over the weekend.”
Lowry dropped to the consolation bracket and took on its neighbor to the west in Pershing County. The Lady Bucks won the first set 25-17 but dropped the second 25-22.
Pershing County had match point in the third set at 15-14, only to see Lowry score the final three points and win 17-15.
“I was pleased with how we bounced back against Lovelock,” Eastman said. “They are a scrappy and solid team. They don’t make mistakes. That was match that we had to earn to win. We were down match point and were able to come back. That showed me a lot.
The Lady Bucks began play in the High Sierra Invitational in Reno on Friday. Lowry took on Hilmar, Calif., Bishop Manogue and Los Banos, Calif.
Bishop Manogue is considered one of the top team in the Northern 4A this year. The tournament concludes on Saturday.
"Going into this tournament, we are going to focus on the details," Eastman said. "We are not going to let the girls get away with taking a play off. This weekend is going to be a challenge. We want to represent ourselves better than we did last year. Our goal going up against Manogue is to be competitive with them. We want to show people that Lowry is back. We are not going to this tournament to be one of the 40 teams to just play. We are there to compete and win matches. Right now, the team chemistry is so much fun to be around."
Lowry starts Northern 3A play on Wednesday with a road trip to Spring Creek at 6 p.m.
The Lady Bucks make their home debut on Wednesday, Sept. 13, against Fernley at 6 p.m.
