As the regular season comes to an end this week, the Lowry High School volleyball team is looking to position itself for the best possible playoff spot for the Northern 3A Regional Championships at Hug High School on Nov. 4-5.
Lowry hosted league-leading Dayton on Friday night, looking to avenge an earlier loss in the season to the Dust Devils.
The night started on a high note, as Lowry dominated set one from the start and cruised to a 25-15 win.
The Dust Devils turned the tables and led more much of the second set and were up 24-18 at one time.
The Lady Bucks fended off set point and number of times, before tying the set at 24. However, Dayton scored the next two points to win 26-24 and even the match at 1-1.
The tight match went on through the night, as the third set needed extra time, with the Dust Devils eventually winning 29-27. Dayton completed the season sweep, winning the fifth set 25-22.
Lowry was back on its home floor on Saturday afternoon and fought its way to a 25-22, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Fernley. The last time the two schools played, the Lady Bucks won in five sets.
Lowry is now 17-8 overall, 4-4 in the Northern 3A East and 6-0 in crossover matches with the Northern 3A West.
In the opening set against Fernley, Lowry scored five of the first six points, aided by kills from Kailey Franklin and Savannah Stoker and two aces by Megan Cook.
Jada Matheny, Franklin, Stoker and Emma Gray added kills in the middle of the set to give Lowry a 15-9 advantage.
The Vaqueros rallied to cut the deficit to 21-20, when Gray stopped the momentum with a block.
However, Lowry had a serving error on the next point, but Stoker countered with a kill on the next point to give Lowry a 23-21 lead.
At 23-22, Marquette Cassinelli added a kill and Lowry won the set when Fernley had a hitting error in the net.
The Vaqueros took their turn to get out to a big lead in the second set, going in in front 6-1, when Gray stopped the run with a kill. Fernley led by as many as seven points at 17-10, when Lowry came back to tie the set at 19 after an ace by Belen Barocio and kill by Gray.
Fernley led 22-20 but committed a serving error and Lowry tied the set at 22. The Lady Bucks led 23-22 after a kill by Stoker and finished the comeback with an ace from Cook and a kill by Franklin.
Lowry started off slowly in the third set once again and were down 18-11 at one time. However, a kill by Stoker and a tip and block by Gray, let Lowry climb within four points at 19-15.
The Vaqueros scored the next point to lead by five points, but a kill by Gray, ace from Matheny and a hitting error by Fernley tied the set at 20.
Lowry took a 22-21 lead after Fernley was called for being in the net and Stoker and Cook finished off the win with a kill and ace, respectively.
Lowry sits in fourth place in the Northern 3A East but has clinched a playoff spot, along with Dayton and Spring Creek.
South Tahoe has won the Northern 3A West and clinched a postseason berth. Elko, Fernley and Truckee are fighting for the final two playoff spots.
