Except for Homecoming week, the second toughest game on the schedule for a team may be the last one at home, which honors its seniors.
In the midst of a tight playoff race in the Northern 3A, the Lowry High School volleyball team said goodbye to eight seniors on Saturday afternoon. The Dayton Dust Devils were in town with thoughts of dampening the day and hurting the playoff seeding, while improving theirs. Dayton beat Lowry earlier in the year in four sets when the Lady Bucks traveled to the Lyon County school.
In what turned out to be a wild back-and-forth match that saw Dayton win two of the first three sets, Lowry battled back to win the final two sets to close out a perfect record at home this fall.
Dayton claimed the first set 25-18, only to see Lowry bounce back in the second set, with a 10-point victory at 25-15. The Dust Devils answered back in the third set 25-8, as the Lady Bucks had one of their worst sets of the year on the floor.
Lowry shook off the rout of the third set and bounced back in the fourth set to win 25-14. The Lady Bucks completed the comeback in the fifth set, but not before going one extra point to earn the victory.
Lowry moved into a three-way tie with Fernley and Truckee at 11-3 for first place in the Northern 3A.
Fernley and Truckee split their two league matches with the Wolverines holding the tiebreaker. Lowry and Fernley also split its league matches during the season.
The Lady Bucks swept the Vaqueros in three sets in Winnemucca and Fernley won in four sets in Fernley.
South Tahoe, Dayton and Elko are tied for the final three playoff spots at 8-6.
Lowry is still has a chance to earn a first-round bye in the Northern 3A Regional Championships on Nov. 3-4 in Fallon.
The Lady Bucks travel to Truckee on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. start. With a win, Lowry would be a No. 1 or 2 seed and would not play until Nov. 4. A loss drops Lowry to third place and they would play on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. against the No. 6 seed. The No. 6 seed will be either Daytton, South Tahoe or Elko.
The Lady Bucks cannot drop any lower than third in the standings. Lowry travels to Sparks on Thursday for a 6 p.m. match with the Railroaders.
Lowry closes out the regular season with a late addition on the schedule. The Lady Bucks travel to Yerington on Tuesday, Oct. 31 to play the Lions. Yerington was the 2A state runner-up a season ago.
The Lions had won five consecutive 2A state championships from 2010-15, before losing to Calvary Chapel last year.
"Yerington has a great team and tradition," said LHS coach Brandon Eastman. "I thought it would be a great opportunity to play a team like that before going to the regional tournament."
