SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Roosevelt dropped two more matches at the Drury Invitational on Saturday in Springfield, Mo.

The Lakers (1-7) struggled to sustain any momentum in a 25-19, 25-9, 25-13 setback against Rockhurst in the first match of the day. Roosevelt was more competitive, but still lost a tight 26-24, 25-14, 25-20 decision against Southern Nazarene to round out the road trip.

Emily DeBlecourt led the way with 16 kills in the two matches for the Lakers while Viktoria Marysheva added 13 kills across the two matches. Natalia Smiech had a team-best 19 digs, followed closely by 18 from Cydney Martinez. Yuliia Shchepkina had four blocks to pace the Lakers on defense.

Rockhurst 3, Roosevelt 0

The Lakers' only lead in this match came when Rockhurst served up an error to start the third set as the Hawks pounced early on Roosevelt. DeBlecourt had a team-high seven kills in the contest and also added two aces. Only five Lakers registered a kill in the match with Marysheva had five kills while Shchepkina and Smiech each had four.
Krista Norton added the other kill for Roosevelt.

Smiech was all over the floor defensively for Roosevelt with 11 digs to go along with her four kills. Martinez finished with eight digs as well.

Southern Nazarene 3, Roosevelt 0

Roosevelt never led in the first set, but the Lakers hung around and made life difficult on the Crimson Storm. Southern Nazarene won four of the first five points, but the Lakers rallied to knot the set at 8. The Crimson Wave also led 17-13 in the opening set before Roosevelt clawed back to tie the set at 19. Roosevelt held off set points with back-to-back kills from DeBlecourt and Norton before Southern Nazarene closed out the set.

In the third set, the Lakers captured some momentum for the first time all day and led for a significant portion of the game. The tide turned with the score equal at 17 when the Crimson Storm won six of seven points to pull away.

DeBlecourt had nine kills and Marysheva had eight to lead the Lakers' offense. Zoe Hutchinson assisted 16 times and Isa Grana had 13 helpers as well. Martinez led the way with 10 digs while Smiech added eight and DeBlecourt had seven. Roosevelt served up six aces in the match, two for DeBlecourt, two for Martinez then one each for Marysheva and Shchepkina.

UP NEXT: The Lakers begin Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic play next Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. at Lake Superior State. The contest will be the first meeting between the two schools both nicknamed the Lakers.