CHICAGO - Down two sets to none against an Indiana South Bend team that swept CCAC leader Trinity Christian just five days ago, the Roosevelt volleyball team rallied furiously to force five sets and come away with a thrilling 22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-13 victory over the Titans inside the Goodman Center on Tuesday night.
Makenzie Cooper led five Lakers in double-digit kills with a career-high and match-high-tying 25 kills to go with 11 digs and a scorching-hot .432 attack percentage, while Kara Sleeper matched her jersey number with 14 clutch kills.
The versatile Mackenzie Bell added 13 kills, Amy Stumpf slammed down 12 kills to go with nine digs, and Alyssa Stilley posted 11 kills for the Lakers (7-15, 2-8 CCAC), who ended a four-match skid in their third consecutive five-set affair.
With so many Lakers thriving on the attack, one need look no further than the output of setter Mallory Nickelson. Nickelson handed out a career-high 68 assists to set a new Roosevelt single-match record. She also had a match-best 14 digs.
Hannah Marchand led the Titans (11-8, 7-3 CCAC) with 25 kills to match Cooper's final total.
Every set was a nailbiter, with each frame coming down to the wire. Indiana South Bend was able to squeeze out narrow decisions in the first two stanzas, with Roosevelt on the brink of facing the same fate as the Trolls.
However, in set three, the Lakers showed resolve and did not allow the Titans to complete a sweep. Despite IUSB coming back late to knot the match at 23-23, Roosevelt used a kill from Sleeper and a Titan attack error to force a fourth frame.
The Lakers rallied back from a 5-0 deficit to start the fourth frame, and Roosevelt closed the door on the Titans in that set on kills from Bell and Stumpf.
That forced the match into a winner-take-all fifth set, and just as every set had been to that point, the fifth found a tooth-and-nail battle until the very end.
Roosevelt broke an 11-11 draw with a Stilley kill and a bad IUSB set, and leading 14-13, it was Sleeper who took a Nickelson set and smacked down the winning kill for match point.
The Lakers have a week off until hosting Robert Morris (Ill.) next Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. inside the Goodman Center as part of Roosevelt Homecoming.
