Volleyball Season Ends at Regional Doorstep

Lowell celebrates a point against FHN in the district finals.

Justin Scott - Sports Reporter

11/9/2024

If you haven’t been to playoff volleyball, you’re missing out. Every point is celebrated as if it's a match point. Every set seems to go down to the wire. Every volley of the ball is watched with peak interest. Volleyball participation in the United States is up nearly 10% in the last decade, and with schools like Nebraska featuring their teams in outdoor stadiums in front of nearly 100,000 people, it’s only likely that will continue to happen.

That excitement is exactly what Lowell’s 3-1 loss to FHN was in a battle of two fof division one’s top squads in their division one district championship match. A match that could’ve been flipped on its heels, particularly in the second set which went FHN’s way.

The first set was all in favor of the sixth ranked Huskies, who won 25-13 thanks to a run to end the set. Annalise Clark led Lowell in the digs department with 17, and helped Lowell fend off a potent FHN attack throughout the match.

A difficult ending to set two made it 2-0 FHN in a 27-25 set that saw Lowell have a set point at 24-23. FHN bounced back with two straight points before a Jordyn McClymont block squared things back up at 25 before FHN won the next two points. One of those points was a violation that Coach Jordan Drake challenged without success, and Lowell faced a 2-0 deficit in the best of five.

Lowell jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set, with a Laney Bieneman block giving Lowell the fifth point. That lead became 21-14 at one point, until the Huskies clawed their way back to 24-24. Season on the line, Braxcynn Baker had two kills to give Lowell two set points before the Red Arrows converted at 26-25, drawing a huge roar from the Lowell stands and getting LHS back into the match.

Sophomore setter Rylie Barriger was a key part of Lowell’s third set win, she had 32 of Lowell’s 36 assists.

In the fourth set Natalie Cornell hit an ace to make it 10-10, but the Huskies would pull away winning the fourth set 25-16 and the match 3-1.

As the final points were played out Lowell's only two seniors Braxcynn Baker and Piper Risdon would glance at the scoreboard on occasion, knowing their high school careers were coming to an end. Both Lowell seniors led the Red Arrows in the kills department with 13 and 11 each. A young squad, Lowell will have their sights set on high expectations next season. Freshman Laney Bieneman scored some big kills of her own, with an impressive 40% kill percentage. Junior Jordyn McClymont had a similar percentage, in addition to a team high four blocks.

The Red Arrows finished the season 24-15-1, including the 3-0 win for LHS in round one of the playoffs against FHC.