CHICAGO – Roosevelt couldn't find enough open space on the floor as it fell in straight sets to Davenport on Saturday at the Goodman Center in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action.

The Lakers (2-19, 0-10 GLIAC) had some great attack spoiled by the Panthers' defense, which finished with 56 digs, including several diving hands to keep plays alive. Meanwhile, Davenport took advantage of a few lucky breaks itself as four of the Panthers' 11 aces in the match clipped the top of the net before falling to the ground.

Despite the sets being tightly-contested, Roosevelt didn't lead in either of the first two sets, dropping them both by identical 25-19 scores. The lead changed hands twice in the third set, but that one ended the most lopsided on the scoreboard with the Panthers closing out the match 25-16.
Roosevelt's defense did its best to cover the court with libero Cydney Martinez finishing with a season-high 16 digs and Viktoria Marysheva adding 10 digs as well. Yuliia Shchepkina also had three blocks to help with an unusually quiet night for the sophomore on offense. It was a tough night in general for the Lakers attack with just 24 kills across the three sets.

Emily DeBlecourt was a menace in the opening set with five kills and no errors to help the Lakers stick around after losing the first three points. Yet the yo-yoing deficit grew one too many times as the Panthers put away the first set with a 5-1 run in the middle of the frame. The Lakers were in striking distance for most of the second set, but could never fully tie the set despite coming within a point on a few occasions. DeBlecourt added four kills in that set and finished with a team-high 10 in the match.

Roosevelt actually took the lead for the first time in the match early in the third set, and that 2-1 advantage proved to be the team's only lead in the match. A Davenport service error made it 7-6 Panthers, but Davenport went on a 5-0 run to extend the lead to start a larger 13-3 stretch that put the match out of distance. Aleksandra Barac had three of her four kills in the second set, the second-highest total on the team.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt stays at home this week as it hosts Saginaw Valley State on Friday at the Goodman Center. The Cardinals won the first meeting in straight sets, and the rematch is set for a 6 p.m. first serve.