Even though the record does not indicate it, Lowry High School second-year volleyball coach Brandon Eastman was pleased with the performance of his team last week at the two-day High Sierra Volleyball Invitational in Reno.
“Overall, I was happy with the way we played,” Eastman said. “It was definitely a step up in competition for us. On the second day we were put in a pretty tough pool and we came out and did a good job against those teams.”
Lowry opened pool play on Friday, Sept. 1, against Hilmar, Calif., and lost 25-23 and 25-10. The Lady Bucks were right back on the floor to play Bishop Manogue and were defeated 25-9 and 25-10.
The Miners are considered one of the top 4A schools in the state and ended up winning the tournament that featured over 40 teams.
Lowry (1-0 Northern 3A, 8-5 overall) ended the first day on a winning note, knocking off Los Banos, Calif., 25-20 and 25-18.
“Manogue is Manogue," Eastman said. “They are really good. It was pretty much what I expected and I was hoping it would be a little closer. I wanted the girls to go out there and compete and not worry about the scoreboard. Manogue will be the favorite to win the Northern 4A. We got off to a good start against Hilmar and we led 10-2. Hilmar called a timeout and after that the momentum just flip-flopped. It was a snowball effect and we could never recover. It was nice to end the day with a win over Los Banos.”
Lowry continued into pool play on Saturday, Sept. 2, and started with a 25-19 and 26-24 loss to Red Bluff, Calif. The Lady Bucks bounced back with a 25-20 and 25-7 sweep over Atwater Calif.
In its final match, Lowry got off to a quick start against perennial 2A power Yerington with a 25-13 win in set one. However, the Lions came back and won the second set 25-13 and the third 15-12 to win the match.
Lowry was down 14-7 in the third set, when senior Jadyn Eastman reeled off four aces. The Lady Bucks went on a 5-0 run to close the gap to 14-12 and forced the Lions to take two timeouts. After the second timeout, Yerington won the match on a missed serve by Lowry.
“The Yerington match was a roller coaster ride,” added the coach. We won the first set big and then they come back and do the same thing to us. Yerington got off to a quick start in the third set and we had to come back from behind the entire set. We made a good run at the end, but we put ourselves in a bad place to start. We made too many mistakes. In a game to 15, you can’t give the other team points.”
Lowry opened play in the Northern 3A on Wednesday night in Spring Creek and beat the Spartans in three straight sets at 25-10, 25-13 and 25-22.
The Lady Bucks finally get to see thier home floor on Wednesday, when Fernley comes to town for a 6 p.m. start.
“Starting with Spring Creek was a good opener for us,” Eastman said. “We have to be ready for Fernley. They are really improved from last year.”
