It is not too often that one match can decide whether a team will move into first place or drop down to fifth depending on the outcome.
That was the scenario facing the Lowry High School volleyball team on Tuesday night in Winnemucca as it took on rival Elko. Before the match, the top five teams in the Northern 3A were separated by one loss.
In front of a playoff atmosphere crowd, the Lady Bucks celebrated their pink night for cancer awareness with a 25-22, 29-27, 21-25 and 25-15 victory over the Indians. Elko had won the first meeting this year in four sets.
Lowry moved into a first-place tie with Fernley at 10-3, while Elko dropped to fifth at 8-5.
“This was a really big win for us,” said LHS coach Brandon Eastman. “Being Elko and our pink game brought a little more energy to the gym. That was a good Elko team we beat tonight. We are finally showing glimpses of what we can be. We are making that step from being a good team to the great team we can be and achieve great things.”
After a slow start in the opening set, Lowry used an 11-0 run to go in front at 14-4. Seniors Brittany Jacaway and Kyllie Sappington started the run with kills and Jacaway added three blocks in the stretch. The third block on the Elko hitters forced the Indians to take a timeout with the Lady Bucks leading 10-4. Two hitting errors by Elko and a kill by Sappington increased the lead to 14-4.
Lowry opened its largest gap of the first set at 20-9 after a block by Brooke Hansen, but a serving error started a rally by Elko that closed the gap to 23-20. Another hitting error gave the Lady Bucks set point and Lowry finished off the win.
Lowry used that momentum to score seven of the first nine points of the second set. An ace by Kepa Bengochea, a kill by Sierra Maestrejuan and a block by Jacaway gave the Lady Bucks the early advantage.
Lowry led by as many as seven points on two occasions — the final time at 14-7, when Elko came back with a flurry of points. The Indians jumped in front 18-16, forcing the Lady Bucks to call a timeout. Elko increased the margin to 21-18, only to see Lowry tie the set at 22 after a kill by Maestrejuan and an ace by Sappington.
Jacaway had three different kills to give the Lady Bucks the lead at 24-23, 26-25 and 27-26, but the Indians had an answer to stay alive in the set. Lowry took the leads for good at 28-27 when Jadyn Eastman and Hansen went up for a tip and Eastman closed out the set on the next point with an ace.
Lowry looked poised to sweep Elko, jumping out to a 6-3 lead in the third set. However, serving errors and bad passes allowed the Indians to come back.
Elko erased a 14-10 deficit and into a 17-16 lead, but that was short-lived. Jacaway and Sappington followed with kills to put the Lady Bucks in front 18-17, but Elko scored four of the next five points to hang for the win.
Lowry came back on fire in the fourth set and led 10-3 after a block by Jacaway and were not threatened again. Aided by a number of hitting errors by Elko and kills by Sappington and Maestrejuan, Lowry led 22-7. They eventually closed out the set at 25-15.
“The league is so tough and competitive,” Eastman said. “You don’t see it too much when a loss can drop you four spots in the standings. We have to be ready to play every time we go out on the floor. The regional tournament will be up for grabs. There are five teams that can legitimately win the regional championship.”
Lowry’s home finale is Saturday against Dayton at noon. The Lady Bucks close out the Northern 3A schedule on Wednesday at Truckee at 6 p.m. and Sparks on Thursday at 6 p.m.
“We have to bring that same intensity against Dayton,” Eastman said. “They beat us earlier in the year. We want a bye going into the tournament in Fallon.”
