CHICAGO – Grit was the name of the game for Roosevelt on Thursday night in pushing Trinity Christian during a straight sets loss on Senior Night at the Goodman Center.

The Lakers (6-16, 3-8 CCAC) were not content to go quietly into the night, challenging the Trolls every step of the way in the 25-16, 25-20, 25-12 loss. Roosevelt flung its bodies with seemingly reckless abandon after loose balls, extending points with hustle and determination. It didn't always result in the Lakers adding to the scoreboard, but they proved themselves by pushing themselves to the limit against a team they had beaten in five sets earlier this season.

It was far from a statistically pretty match from Roosevelt, but the heart shown on the court helped earn the home team some points by forcing Trinity Christian into errors. If not for a few points loss for being out of rotation in the first set, the final scoreline would have been far closer. Those two points helped turn an early 6-6 score into a 19-13 lead for the Trolls during a stretch that featured plenty of thrilling rallies between the two teams.

The finish Roosevelt lacked in the first set to kill off those long rallies was present in the second set as the two teams battled back and forth. The Lakers finally broke through with a long run of their own with a 5-0 run in the middle of the second set to take an 18-13 lead. Although all five points came off Trinity Christian errors, Roosevelt was forcing those mistakes with pinpoint attacks that scrambled the Trolls' defenses and led to some awkward attempts at getting the ball over the net. Unfortunately, the Lakers made five errors during Trinity Christian's subsequent 9-0 run that ended the set.

Roosevelt dropped the first six points of the third set, which set the tone for an anti-climatic finish to the match. The Trolls hit .500 in the final set, overpowering the Lakers' defenses with strong attacks that Roosevelt could not corral. The early six-point deficit quickly swelled to 14-3 and despite some pockets of brilliance late in the third set, the Lakers struggled to find consistency on defense to extend points against the Trolls.

Shawn McCarthy led the Lakers with five kills in the match and Favio Lopez-Para had a team-high eight digs. Conrad Para had five digs in his one set before exiting the match due to injury while Tony Galeana had a team-best nine assists in the match. Joseph Claffy was not credited with any blocks despite several times stuffing the Trolls at the net and forcing them into subsequent errors on offense.

It was a bittersweet send off for Galeana, McCarthy, Para and Joseph Claffy, who were honored pregame as the Lakers' four seniors. All four were part of the original team that arrived at Roosevelt after the merger with Robert Morris, helping to start the sport at a new school.

The Lakers close out the season next week with a pair of CCAC road contests, starting Thursday at Calumet St. Joseph with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m.