For most of the year, the Northern 3A volleyball league looked like a hot mess with the possibility of any team beating another on any given night.
Fernley ended up pulling away at the end of the season to win the league at 8-2, but it was one of the Vaqueros’ losses that ended up knocking Lowry High School out of the regional championships.
Lowry took Fernley to five sets on Oct. 23, but lost to the top-seeded Vaqueros. However, earlier in the year, Spring Creek knocked off Fernley and that win helped the Spartans secure a playoff spot over the Lady Bucks.
Both teams finished 5-5 in the Northern 3A East, winning each match in five sets. The deciding tie-breaker was Spring Creek’s win over a higher seed. Both teams had beaten Dayton the No. 2 seed.
Lowry hosted Spring Creek on senior night on Tuesday, Oct. 26, with the Spartans grabbing a thrilling 29-27, 25-20, 23-25, 23-25, 15-11 win in Winnemucca.
Spring Creek raced out to a 10-5 lead in the opening set forcing Lowry to call a quick timeout. After the break, sophomore Savannah Stoker provided the Lady Bucks with a spark with a kill.
Lowry came back to take a 17-16 lead after a tip by Kailey Franklin and a block by Mckenzi Petersen.
Spring Creek held a 22-21 advantage and nearly had an ace as the ball hit the top of the net on serve but fell back on the Spartans’ side to tie the set at 22.
Lowry claimed the lead at 25-24 after an ace by Lyndsee Dove but couldn’t close the set, as the Spartans used an ace of their own to go up 26-25.
The Lady Bucks scored the next two points, as a block by Petersen put Lowry up 27-26.
With the set tied at 27, Lowry was called for a double hit and Spring Creek won the set on the next point.
Spring Creek grabbed early control of the second set at 7-3, only to see Lowry go in front 13-10 after two kills by Franklin and a block by Petersen.
Another kill by Franklin helped the Lady Bucks go in front 18-11, but the set came crashing down for Lowry, as Spring Creek ended the set on a 14-2 run.
The Lady Bucks shook off the loss and saw an early lead in the third set behind an ace by Franklin, two kills by Petersen and a tip by Stoker.
Lowry had its biggest lead of the set at 17-11 after two more kills by Stoker, when Spring Creek erased the deficit with a 7-0 run to go in front 18-17.
With the set tied at 20 and after a Lowry timeout, Petersen followed with two kills to put Lowry up 22-20.
The Spartans tied the set at 23 after a serving error by the Lady Bucks and an ace. Spring Creek gave Lowry the lead at 24-23 on a hitting error and a block by Stoker secured the 25-23 win.
Lowry found itself behind once again in the fourth set at 8-3 and battled back to 11-10 after kills by Stoker and Franklin. Spring Creek looked in control at 17-12, but Lowry fought back to go in front at 21-19. Petersen provided a kill and an ace late in the set to send the match to a fifth set.
This time an early deficit was too much for the Lady Bucks to bounce back. Spring Creek led 6-2 and never gave the lead up. Petersen and Stoker combined for four kills in the set, but it wasn’t enough as the Spartans led 14-9 and held on for the 15-11 win.
Lowry sweeps Elko
Going into the regular-season finale last Thursday in Elko, Lowry was still in playoff contention – needing a victory.
The Lady Bucks got that, beating the Indians 25-20, 25-18 and 25-15.
However, over the hill in Spring Creek, Churchill County needed to beat the Spartans to put the Lady Bucks in the playoffs.
The Greenwave could not pull off the win, ending the season for Lowry.
Wooster will play Spring Creek on Friday in the regional championships in Fallon. The winner plays Fernley on Friday at noon.
Dayton and South Tahoe meet on Friday at 7 p.m. and that winner plays Truckee at 1:45 p.m on Saturday. The championship is Saturday at 4 p.m.
