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Lakeview sweeps Fitch
By Greg Gulas
CORTLAND
The Lakeview High School volleyball team seized momentum early on Tuesday and rode it to a sweep of Austintown Fitch.
“We had the momentum tonight,” said senior Laney Lytle who had 19 assists and three aces. “It is very rewarding to be sitting at the top of the conference standings at this point of the season.”
The Bulldogs (14-2, 9-0 All-American Conference Red) won by scores of 25-17, 25-22 and 25-20. It was their fifth consecutive sweep.
Addie Becker made eight blocks and Jensen Silbaugh added 11 kills to pace Lakeview.
Falcons head coach Steve Mohr said his team needs to seize leads.
“We’re right on the cusp,” Mohr said. “We let our opponent get ahead, battle back to get within striking distance and then a bad hit or pass dooms us.”
The Bulldogs opened a 19-12 lead on Annie Pavlansky’s three consecutive points, then held on for a 25-17 victory in the opening game of the match.
Pavlansky finished with 14 points and 13 digs.
In the second game, Lytle staked the Bulldogs to the early 4-0 advantage and then built a seven-point cushion on Silbaugh’s two points to hold on for a 25-22 victory.
“The key for us today was our energy,” Silbaugh said. “When we have it, we can go on a roll and when we don’t, we tend to get lazy.
“There are a lot of good teams in this division so to be at the top just shows you our will and determination as a group.”
In the third game, seven points by Pavlansky staked Lakeview to a 10-3 lead. The Falcons (7-8, 2-6) cut the margin to 17-14 on Keara Katcher’s point. But that was the closest Fitch got as Lakeview went on an 8-6 game-ending run.
“We definitely put the work in during the off-season and as a senior, I expected us to be where we are right now,” Becker said. “A win like this, especially against a conference opponent, helps build momentum as the regular season winds down and you get ready for tournament play.”
Bulldogs head coach Caitlin Schnurrenberger said the goal is to limit mistakes.
“As a team, you always want to win in three games but tonight, we wanted to make sure we limit any costly mistakes,” Schnurrenberger said. ”For the most part, we were able to accomplish that.
“Addie had a nice game both defensively and offensively while Taylor Casassa had an excellent defensive game as well,” Schnurrenberger said. “Jensen and Annie each had excellent offensive games and the big reason for that is because we play good defense. We knew coming onto the game that Sarah Obradovich was their big hitter and we did a nice job of limiting her runs.”
Obradovich registered five kills, 10 digs and six assists, Katcher added 16 digs, seven points and an ace, Alyssa Kovacs and Natalie Lynn four kills each and Jayla Crowley four blocks.
Mohr said his team “had a lot of nice block touches tonight but didn’t get the falls. Also, we made some nice adjustments. We’re right there just ready to break out.”