JEFFERSON — When referring to being quick and passing well, it’s normally a person’s assumption the subject is football.

But being able to run things quickly and to pass the ball effectively is equally vital in volleyball. If there are problems in dealing with either facet of the game, it can have far-reaching implications for a team’s overall performance.

So it was for the Geneva volleyball team Thursday night in the Division II district championship match. The Eagles’ problems dealing with the aggressive serving and quick offense put up by the Lake Catholic Cougars led to a 25-19, 25-12, 25-19 loss and the end of the tournament trail for Geneva (17-8).

In what may well be the last official athletic event held at Falcon Gymnasium, top-seeded Lake Catholic (19-6) won for the second straight year. That earned the Cougars advancement to the Division II regional tournament at Stow-Munroe Falls High School. In Thursday’s second semifinal, they will play Medina Buckeye (23-2), the LaGrange Keystone district winner.

Geneva bows out having reached the district championship match for the first time since 2001, when coach Annah Haeseler was an assistant to now-retired coach Stan Bielech.

“The girls were excited about it,” Haeseler said. “I think our nerves got to us a little bit at the beginning and we played a little tentative.

“(Lake Catholic) served tough and our passing took the brunt of that. Our serve receive was the big problem. We got going in little spurts, but we couldn’t put things together consistently. Against teams like that, you end up playing defense a lot, too. Our passing didn’t support our quick offense.”

Lake Catholic coach Rich Severino said the Cougars worked hard in preparation for the match on serving aggressively and running their quick offense as much as possible.

“Our last two practices, we put that into our game plan,” he said. “We felt if we could stay in our system, pass the ball well and run as many quicks as we could, we’d be all right. We got a lot of quick kills.

“We tried to serve as aggressively as we could, too. They missed a few serves, especially early, too.”

Taylor Webb, one of two Geneva seniors completing a four-year varsity career, said she felt the Eagles were ready to play, but agreed that the team’s passing and serving problems were harmful. Webb finished the night with five points, 10 aces on 20-of-23 spiking, an ace block and an ace dink.

“I think we came in excited,” she said. “We tried to be as positive as we could. There was pressure, but I think we came in ready to play.

“Our problem was passing. At the beginning, we had some problems with our serving, too.”

Rachel Murray, one of six other seniors on the Geneva roster, said the Eagles may have been overly excited.

“I’ve never been more nervous,” Murray, who had nine points and three aces on 7-of-7 spiking, said. “Maybe we were overly nervous.

“I thought we started out well in the first game. In fact, I thought we started each game well. We just couldn’t maintain it.”

Murray was correct in that assessment. The first game was tied as late as 6-all, but Lake Catholic pulled away from there behind the serving of Audryana Lucha, who finished with eight points, including three ace serves, four points and five ace spikes from Chelsey Regovich, four more points from Melanie Patterson and two ace blocks from Kristin Primozic. That offset six points and four ace spikes from senior outside hitter Hillary Hambleton, four points from senior libero Kristyn Pristov, two ace blocks from Ashley Meaney and three ace spikes from Webb.

In the second game, the two teams stayed even through 5-all before Lake Catholic pulled away behind seven points from libero Kelly Stenger and five ace spikes from Bridget Grdina. Sophomore outside hitter Katie Beacom, Webb and Murray each had two ace spikes for Geneva, but couldn’t stem the tide of Lake Catholic’s charge.

The third game featured another solid start by Geneva, with the Eagles and Cougars tied as late as at 9-all. But three points by Lucha put Lake Catholic ahead to stay. Regovich took over from there with five points and five ace spikes. Grdina, Primozic and Grdina each mixed in three ace spikes to counter five from Webb and three from Beacom.

Hambleton led Geneva with 14 points and six ace spikes. Pristov had nine points and three ace spikes. Junior Ashley Meaney had five points and two ace blocks, while senior setter Stephanie Booth had four points and 15 aces on a 23-of-23 setting night.

Lucha led Lake Catholic with 18 points, including five ace serves, and an ace dink. Regovich finished with 12 points, 12 aces on 14-of-15 spiking, an ace block and an ace dink.

Webb expressed pride in the accomplishments of her team.

“I’m really proud of my team,” she said. “I give all the credit to them for what we’ve accomplished.”

Haeseler said her group of seven seniors, which also included Aimee Jones and Mary Ankrom, set a high standard for those they leave behind.

“We’ve had an excellent group of seniors,” she said. “They’ve been great kids and great students.

“Next year will be a transitional year with only three girls coming back, but they’ve had a group of great role models to learn from. Now it will be up to them to carve out their own niche.”