RENO — It was an emotional night to say the least at the Northern 3A Regional Volleyball Championships at Hug High School on Friday night.
The Lowry High School volleyball took on Spring Creek, as a large group of fans plus a pep bus filled with Buckaroo students made the 165-mile trip to support the team and a senior on the squad.
Earlier in the week, Kailey Franklin lost her father in a hunting accident. As she made her return to the team, she had the full support of the gym on Friday night.
The Lady Bucks took that extra push from the crowd and won the first two sets 26-24 and 25-21.
They were just a set away from advancing to the semifinals.
Lowry led 12-11 in the third set, only to see Spring Creek rally for a 25-16 win.
Lowry led 19-17 in the fourth set, but Spring Creek came back to win 25-23 to set up a fifth and final set.
The Spartans dominated the start of the fifth set but had to hold off an improbable comeback by the Lady Bucks.
Spring Creek scored seven of the first 10 points of the fifth set. Behind back-to-back points from Emma Gray and Franklin, Lowry cut the deficit to 7-6.
Spring Creek made another run and led 14-9 with match point, when Lowry kept the match going with back-to-back kills by Savannah Stoker to close the gap to 14-11.
Lowry scored the next point, forcing Spring Creek to take a timeout.
The break in play did not stop the momentum, as the Lady Bucks stopped two more match points to come back and tie the set at 14.
The Spartans scored the next point to lead 15-14, when Stoker tied it back up at 15 with a kill. Spring Creek went back up 16-15 but a service error tied the set at 16-16. Lowry never took the lead after tying it at 14, as Spring Creek prevented the comeback, scoring the final two points to win 18-16.
In the opening set, Lowry led 8-3 off kills by Cambria Tisue an Stoker and a block by Stoker. Spring Creek rallied to go in front 16-14, when Lowry tied it at 16, following a kill by Jada Matheny and block by Gray.
The Spartans came back and were in front 20-17 and 23-19, when a missed serve provided the momentum Lowry needed. A block by Stoker closed the gap to 23-21 and a Spring Creek hitting error tied the set at 23. With the set tied at 24, Stoker ended the set with two kills.
It was all Lowry at the start of the second set, leading 18-9, but the nine-point advantage went away as Spring Creek closed within a point at 22-21. The Lady Bucks scored the next three points to win the set.
In a match of momentum shifts, Spring Creek ran out to a 7-3 lead in the third set but an ace by Belen Barocio helped Lowry score the next four points to tie it up at 7.
The set was tied at 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13-13, when the Spartans pulled away with four straight points. Spring Creek ended the set on a 12-3 run.
The two squad’s trader the lead in the fourth set, with Lowry leading 16-12 after a hitting error and service error by Spring Creek.
The Lady Bucks used kills from Tisue and Matheny to lead 19-17, but a hitting error led to Spring Creek tying the set at 19.
The Spartans scored the next three points to lead 22-19 but a tip by Gray and kill from Franklin tied the set once again at 22.
Franklin did her best and had the crowd going with another kill to keep Lowry going in the set at 24-23. However, the Spartans scored the next point to win 25-23.
Lowry graduates seven seniors this year and finished the season at 19-9.
