Fallon’s Reece Hutchings passes while teammate Rylee Nichols looks on during their match against Fernley last Wednesday.
After coming from behind to force a fifth game against Fernley on Wednesday, Fallon’s volleyball team rebounded from the midweek loss to score one of the biggest upsets of the regular season.
The Lady Wave held off a late rally from Dayton on Saturday to win in four games and keep their playoff hopes alive. Fallon defeated Dayton on the road, 25-18, 25-20, 22-25 and 25-23, complicating the Class 3A playoff landscape even more.
Fallon lost to Fernley, 25-22, 11-25, 18-25, 25-19 and 14-16.
Although Fallon is last in the six-team 3A North (East) with a 2-6 record, its 5-1 crossover record against the 3A West has kept the Lady Wave alive with only two matches remaining. Fallon hosted Elko — which it lost to in five games earlier in the season — on Wednesday, and hosts Spring Creek tonight at 6 p.m. at the Elmo Dericco Gymnasium.
To make the postseason, which is next weekend in Reno, Fallon must win both matches this week, and it also needs Dayton to beat Fernley and Wooster to beat Truckee. This would allow Fallon to jump Fernley by one game in the standings and snag the sixth and final playoff berth.
Truckee owns a tiebreaker over Fallon because of five-game victory in Fallon last month. If Fallon splits this week, it will tie Fernley, which swept the season series over Fallon.
Dayton, even with the loss to Fallon, is in first with a 6-3 league record and 16 total points. Elko and Spring Creek each have 5-3 records, but the Spartans have 15 points against the Indians’ 13. Lowry, which Fallon upset earlier this month, has 16 points but a 4-4 league record. Fernley is at 3-6 with 13 points, followed by Fallon at 2-6 and 12 points.
On the other side of the 3A, South Tahoe clinched the West after sweeping Truckee and is 9-0 in the division. Truckee (7-2, 13 points) needs to beat Wooster this week to make the playoffs.
Each win in the division is one point and each crossover win is two points.
1A volleyball
In the 1A West, Oasis Academy lost a key battle to Sage Ridge on Saturday to determine the final playoff berth.
The Bighorns lost in four — 21-25, 25-16, 9-25 and 19-25 — at Pyramid Lake last Tuesday before taking on Sage Ridge on Saturday. Oasis Academy played first-place Smith Valley on Monday to conclude the regular season.
Oasis Academy is battling Sage Ridge for the final playoff berth to next week’s 1A regional tournament in Carson City. Saturday’s result bumped Sage Ridge into sixth place.