CHICAGO – Roosevelt rolled to a season-opening sweep of Concordia (Ill.) on Tuesday night at the Goodman Center, starting their campaign with a 25-14, 25-17, 25-23 win over the Cougars in non-conference action.

The new faces were out in full force for the Lakers (1-0) as the transfers made strong impressions in their first game in the Green and White. Andrea DiPaola led the team with 12 kills on a .290 hitting percentage and also tied for the lead with nine digs. Mark Zmojdzin added 11 kills and was part of three assisted blocks to add some power on the other side of the court for Roosevelt.

Lachlan Diamond shone bright in the middle for the Lakers with five blocks and seven kills without making an error. Michele Bascape's passing was on point as well with 31 assists to help set up the powerful attackers for their kills. The transfer from Park University also added nine digs to help in the defensive effort.

It took a bit for Roosevelt to power up, but once the Lakers reached their peak, they overwhelmed the Cougars. In the opening set, the Lakers went on a 9-0 run to turn a 9-7 deficit into a 16-9 lead by chasing down balls and forcing errors from Concordia. Roosevelt registered just two kills during that nine-point stretch, but also had two blocks and several strong digs to keep rallies alive.

Roosevelt went on an 8-1 run in the second set to distance itself from Concordia with the offense doing the brunt of the work. DiPaola had three kills in four points to force a timeout from the Cougars then added another kill and an ace to close out the stretch. After Concordia closed the deficit to three, the Lakers won the final five points with Zmojdzin registering two kills then providing the defense to cause errors on the final two points.

The Lakers' only timeout of the match came in the middle of the third set after surrendering a 5-0 run. However, the break refocused the squad and Roosevelt quickly knotted up the set at 15 before the teams began trading points. Bascape came to the service line for match point and smashed an ace that the Cougars could not handle cleanly to seal the match.

Roosevelt stays at home Thursday for its second match of the season when it welcomes Mount Mercy to the Goodman Center for a 6 p.m. start.