CHICAGO – It took Roosevelt too long to find its rhythm Thursday night, and Calumet St. Joseph came to the Goodman Center and washed past the Lakers in straight sets in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup.

The Lakers (3-7, 1-2 CCAC) were unable to build any momentum in either of the first two sets and struggled to string together points. They won consecutive points just twice in the first set and just three times in the second. The Crimson Wave won both sets 25-19 as their offense continued to find open court against the Roosevelt defense. Calumet St. Joseph hit nearly 28 percent in the first set and 36 percent in the second set as it looked to be in cruise control.

Roosevelt had other ideas in the third set until a pair of questionable referee calls sent the Lakers spiraling to defeat. In contrast to the first two sets, the Lakers were able to dig out the aggressive Crimson Wave attacks and prolong points in their favor. Not only did Roosevelt begin to string together points, it was able to side out quickly to prevent Calumet St. Joseph from gaining any momentum.

However, it all began to change at 16-11 when Joseph Claffy went up for a kill and was called for a carry. The Lakers bounced back to take an 18-12 lead, but the wheels fell off for Roosevelt at 20-15. The Crimson Wave scored five straight points, including a kill that looked to be a replica of the shot Claffy had called back due to a violation. Roosevelt did lead 21-20, 22-21 and 23-22, but faced three match points before the Crimson Wave sealed the deal at 27-25.

Conrad Para led the team with seven kills, followed closely by Claffy and Daniel Mahoney, who each slammed home six finishes. Shawn McCarthy only had four kills, but combined perfectly with Claffy for three tandem blocks in the match.

The Lakers have the weekend off before returning to the court Tuesday night in Indiana against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods at 6 p.m.