After Lakeside volleyball team's season ended Tuesday, players folded their courtside seats and stored them away.

The Panthers were eliminated at home by Dutchtown, 3-0, in the second round of the Class AAAA volleyball playoffs. Lakeside players were quiet, but pleased with the way their season had gone.

The chairs stayed out longer this season than might have been expected.

"I'm still pretty happy," Lakeside senior Leslie Rhoades said. "We met our goals. I would have wanted to win, but I'm still excited."

The Panthers this season won the Region 3-AAAA title, a goal the current crop of Lakeside seniors accomplished for the first time. The next goal was a victory in the state playoffs, which Lakeside met with a first-round sweep of North Springs last week.

Both were improvements from last season, and that is what first-year Lakeside coach Hannah Funsch wanted to see.

The Dutchtown Bulldogs, the No. 3 seed out of Region 4-AAAA, won its first two playoff matches in six games to advance to the quarterfinals. Bulldogs coach Angela Williams said her team frustrated her at times during the regular season but that they seem to have turned the corner.

"They peaked at the right time," Williams said. "They had some times during the season where I was like, 'Oh, Lord.' But now, they finally are playing together as a team and you can tell a difference."

Funsch said the scouting report on Dutchtown was that it was a sleeper and possible title contender.

The Bulldogs won with scores of 27-25, 25-17, 25-18. Lakeside battled back from a 5-0 deficit in Game 1 to twice serve for game point, but the Panthers could not close it out.

"I always like to come out and win the first game to set the tone for the rest," Funsch said. "But my girls have had a wonderful season."

Dutchtown looked stronger after that first game.

The Bulldogs led the duration of Game 2 and came back from a 6-1 deficit in Game 3 to win handily.

Williams said her players had to adjust from the more than two-hour bus ride.

That's an advantage Lakeside enjoyed during the playoffs. The Panthers played host to the first two rounds.

The team's seniors had not played a playoff match at home before this season.

"We loved playing at home," Funsch said. "This is the biggest crowd we've ever had."