Lakeview defeats Struthers to advance to D4 district title game | News, sports, jobs

Staff photo / Preston Byers. The Lakeview girls volleyball team celebrates a point in the Bulldogs’ playoff win over Struthers on Wednesday in Cortland.

CORTLAND — Heading into the district semifinals on Wednesday, the Lakeview girls volleyball team had a goal of getting in and out as quickly as possible.

Mission accomplished.

The Bulldogs, in their third meeting of the season with Northeast 8 rival Struthers, defeated the Wildcats (25-14, 25-10, 25-17) to advance to the Division IV, Northeast V district championship game and move one step further make far from achieving one of their main goals.

“We came with one goal in mind, and we did it in three steps [sets]said Lakeview coach Heather Guthrie. “We know it is difficult to beat this team three times in a season. So we knew they were going to come out and give it everything they had and we were going to come out giving it everything we had.”

After a back-and-forth start to the opening set, the Bulldogs began attacking the Wildcats.

Even a timeout mid-set by Struthers head coach Robert Calvin did little to slow Lakeview, which won the set 25-14.

The Bulldogs continued their consistent, athletic attack in the second set, which proved to be even more one-sided than the first.

However, after losing 25-10 in the second set, Struthers showed life and battled Lakeview throughout the third set.

The teams remained relatively even for the first 15 points, but the Bulldogs, supported by players like seniors Reagan Price, Molly Stuart, Addison Allen and Mallory Mailach, eventually broke through and held on to win a game-winning set, 25-17 .

“They definitely knew who our big hitters were,” Guthrie said. “They knew what Mallory’s tendencies were when she was gone, where she was going to go, where she was going to put the ball. I think that made us play mentally tougher tonight. It made some girls who weren’t used to maybe hitting as hard or being a main force on offense step up.”

For Struthers, the straight-sets loss was his third against Lakeview in 2024.

“The mistakes lost us the game,” Calvin said. “We made too many mistakes and they didn’t make any mistakes. … We worked all season to eliminate the mistakes.”

Despite the defeat, Calvin praised his players for their commitment and achievements this season.

“This is the furthest Struthers has ever traveled,” Calvin said. “So I thought we did really well this year.”

Lakeview continues its postseason run with Wednesday’s win; The Bulldogs will play Cleveland Heights Beaumont in the Division IV, Northeast 5 district final.

The Bulldog seniors’ goal was to win a district championship, not just throughout the season but throughout their time at Lakeview, Price said.

“This is a goal we’ve had since the beginning of the season,” Price said. “But years before that, in eighth grade, our high school team made it to districts but ended up failing. And we would really like to break this record.”

While the team has been nearly flawless – Lakeview has won 21 of its 23 games and all but eight sets this season – the Bulldogs are using one of their few hiccups to strengthen themselves.

On October 3, Lakeview suffered its only NE-8 loss of the year, a 3-1 road loss to Girard.

The Bulldogs still don’t like this disappointment.

“We all hated that feeling. It was terrible,” Price said. “I think we use that to motivate ourselves because we don’t want to feel that again, especially in our senior year. Because now it’s the playoffs. So if we lose, we’re done – and we don’t want to be done playing with each other.”

Having the physical tools to compete with playoff-caliber teams is one thing, and something the Bulldogs have.

But the seniors, some of whom Mailach said have been playing side-by-side for six years, aren’t focused on the athleticism of themselves or their opponents.

For them, chemistry and mental toughness will determine who wins the district title.

“We all have to have confidence in ourselves and trust each other on the pitch,” said Mailach.

“It’s all mental from here on out,” Stuart said. “We’ve been preparing all year for it to be physical and now it’s all in our heads.”

Whether they have what it takes to become district champions will be decided Saturday when the Bulldogs travel to Mentor for the 3 p.m. game against Beaumont.

If they can return home with the title, Guthrie says it will be “a return” for Lakeview athletics.

“It would just set the tone and show how hard these girls work,” Guthrie said. “Yes, I want to win, but if anything I want to win for the girls. I want them to have that feeling and know that hard work pays off.”