The Battle Mountain High School volleyball team was back on its home floor for one final time this season — hosting the Northern 2A Regional Championship with five other teams.
The Lady Longhorns came into the tournament as the No. 5 seed and took on No. 4 seed North Tahoe.
This was the third match of the year for the Lakers in Battle Mountain this fall, with the same result. The two teams played a doubleheader in Battle Mountain after the match in Tahoe City was postponed
North Tahoe defeated Battle Mountain four sets 25-15, 23-25, 35-11 and 25-18 on Friday night to end the Lady Longhorns’ season at 10-12-4 overall and 5-8 in the Northern 2A.
Battle Mountain began the night on a hot streak with an opening ace by Lauryn Avey and a kill by Brynnlee Freeman. However, North Tahoe went on a 6-1 run lead to go in front, when the Lady Longhorns tied the first set at 7-7 after a block by Christina Holley and ace by Freeman.
After seeing the set get tied, North Tahoe went on a 11-2 spurt to go in front 18-9 and the Lakers did not look back.
North Tahoe held the early advantage in the second set, when Battle Mountain took an 8-7 lead after a block by Holley, ace by Freeman and kill by Avey on consecutive points. Freeman capped off a 10-run to increase the lead to 15-7 when it ended on a hitting error.
Battle Mountain held its largest lead at 18-9 after back-to-back aces, but North Tahoe did not go away. The Lakers rallied to within a point at 23-22 and 24-23 but could not complete the comeback, as a kill attempt was just wide of the line, giving Battle Mountain the set.
North Tahoe used the momentum out of the second set and scored 12 of the first 14 points of the second set. A kill by Freeman and ace by Yezzel Guizar attempted to keep the Lady Longhorns in the set, only to see the Lakers pull away for the win.
After an early lead by Battle Mountain on the strength of a kill by Freeman, North Tahoe quickly rebounded and jumped out to a 11-4 advantage. The Lakers opened up a 22-12 lead that shrunk after a tip and kill by Holley and an ace from Freeman, but Battle Mountain could not get any closer than six points.
North Tahoe advanced to play Incline in the semifinals on Saturday and lost to the Highlanders.
In the other portion of the bracket on Friday, Pershing County defeated West Wendover in three sets. Pershing County lost to Yerington in four sets in the semifinals on Saturday.
In the championship match, Incline knocked off Yerington. Both teams advanced to the state championships at Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas this weekend.
