Box Score PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. – Roosevelt dug deep in the fifth set to outlast Trinity Christian in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup in Palos Heights on Thursday night.
It felt like the Lakers (2-3, 1-1 CCAC) might have run out of gas after shocking the Trolls by winning the first two sets. Roosevelt fell behind by five point early in the third set, and though it hung around with Trinity Christian afterwards, it never was able to close the deficit much. The Trolls had no issue blitzing through the fourth set, either, setting up a monumental fifth set for the Lakers on the road.
Trinity Christian won five of the first six points in the deciding set, forcing a timeout from coach Kelly Magliano. The break helped steady the Lakers with Conrad Para clobbering two kills to help Roosevelt tie the set at 6. Para and Shawn McCarthy then smashed down consecutive kills to give the Lakers their first lead of the fifth set before a pair of Trinity Christian errors gave Roosevelt some breathing room.
Terrence Young Jr., Joseph Claffy and McCarthy all earned kills before another Trolls miscue set up five match points. It was a nervy few moments after a service error sent the ball back to the Trolls, but McCarthy finished the match with his 16th kill to secure the upset. It polished off the best attacking srt of the season for the Lakers, who had eight kills compared to just a single error for a season-high .467 hitting percentage.
Para ended with 14 kills in the match and Tony Galeana dished out 36 assists to power the Lakers' attack. Claffy finished with nine kills and two aces with four of his kills coming in a marathon second set that changed the entire complexion of the match. A run of three kills from Claffy in a four-point stretch began a 9-4 run for the Lakers that left them with four set points to go up 2-0 on the Trolls. Trinity Christian won five straight points to set up a set point of its own that McCarthy crushed with a kill. The Lakers earned the next three chances to end the set as neither team relented until McCarthy put it away with a kill to make it 31-29.
That second set was so important because of the focus and discipline the Lakers showed in taking the opening set 25-20 from Trinity Christian. Roosevelt hit .241 in the first set, a mark it had only topped twice in the first four matches of the season. The Lakers led the set wire-to-wire after capturing the first three points of the match, sealing the deal with a critical 4-1 run after the Trolls cut the lead to just two points.
Trinity Christian won the third set 25-19 with that early run proving to be all the difference. The Trolls then steamrolled to a 25-11 victory in the fourth set, and it was not a surprise the Lakers had a negative hitting percentage in both of those sets. Meanwhile, Trinity Christian combined for 24 kills and just six errors for a hitting percentage of .316.
There is little rest for the Lakers, who head to Elgin on Friday and Saturday for the Eagles Classic hosted by Judson. Roosevelt faces Cornerstone at 11 a.m. on Friday then finishes the day at 5 p.m. against Olivet. On Saturday, the Lakers face Maranatha Baptist at 12:30 p.m. before facing the host Eagles in a non-conference clash at 2 p.m.
