Back row carries Lincoln County into title match

RENO — In middle blocker Marissa Smerek, Lincoln County has the kind of force at the net who can make a difference when the stakes are high.

However, it was the Lynx’ back row that carried them past North Tahoe, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 on Friday at Damonte Ranch and into the 2A state championship match against five-time defending state champion Whittell.

Lincoln County coach Ken Thornock said the Lynx won because they were able to stop North Tahoe hitter Kayla Baumgardner.

“We really planned to take the game away from her,” Thornock said. “At the end we dug Baumgardner four times, and that was the key to the match.”

Kelbey Cheeney had 12 assists for the Lynx. Maicha LeBaron added 11 assists. Smerek had 13 kills.

Baumgardner had 15 kills for North Tahoe.

Whittell 3, The Meadows 2 — Whittell rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win 22-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-17, 16-14 and keep alive its hopes for a sixth consecutive state title.

Whittell coach Tony Fathergill said his team struggled with nerves and the pressure of living up to expectations early in the match.
“We were nervous at the beginning and had a ton of hitting errors and a ton of passing errors and we just weren’t attacking the ball aggressively,” Fathergill said. “Once we started finishing the ball it changed things around.”

The Meadows led 14-13 in the fifth set.

Kim McLaughlin had 22 assists and five aces for the Mustangs. Kristyna Fong added 28 digs.

“It’s a heartbreaker,” Meadows coach Stephanie Heller said. “A few mistakes here and there, and it could gone either way.”