CHICAGO – Roosevelt overcame four match points in the fourth set for a wild five-set win over Saginaw Valley State on Friday night at the Goodman Center.

The Lakers' chances at earning their first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win of the season looked bleak in the fourth set. The Cardinals had built a 20-13 lead when Roosevelt used its second timeout of the set, then Saginaw Valley State immediately won the next point with a block then registered a kill to increase its lead to nine.

Kaylee Bayer started the comeback with consecutive kills then Isa Grana and Alessia Isgro joined the fun. Another Cardinals point dampened the momentum temporarily, but Isgro came up with another kill then Grana teamed up with Lihi Zaibert for a block to force a Saginaw Valley State timeout. Bayer served up an ace out of the break, and the deficit was down to 23-20.

Still, when Zaibert's attack was deemed to not have been touched two points later, Saginaw Valley State had three chances to end the match. Grana saved the first match point with a kill then the Cardinals committed an error to squander the second point. Zaibert and Ella Portu stuffed the next attack, and suddenly, it was 24-24.

A service error gave the Cardinals one more shot at taking the match, but Isgro came up with a big kill to extinguish that hope. The next Saginaw Valley attack went long then Portu and Zaibert came up with another block to help the Lakers (2-19, 1-8 GLIAC) capture the fourth set.

Roosevelt rode the wave of momentum to a 15-11 win in the fifth set while never trailing in the decider. Isgro had five of her team-high 15 kills in the final set, including the emphatic concluding attack to snap the Lakers' 17-match losing skid.

Zaibert controlled the opening set with five total blocks, including a pair of solo stuffs, to help Roosevelt open the match with a 25-20 victory. The Lakers had just six kills in the set, but made up the difference with Zaibert's rejections, four aces and 11 attacking errors from the Cardinals, who hit -.160 in the first set.

Saginaw Valley State won the second and third sets by identical 25-19 scores to reverse the tide against Roosevelt. The Cardinals never trailed in the second set after breaking an 8-8 deadlock then never looked back after breaking a 7-7 tie in the third set. The difference for Saginaw Valley State was avoiding Zaibert, who had two combined blocks in those two sets. Otherwise, the sophomore was a menace at the net for Roosevelt to spark the comeback.

Zaibert registered 10 total blocks, becoming the second player in Roosevelt history to reach double-digit blocks in a match. She had three blocks in the fourth set to help turn the momentum then was not called upon in the fifth set with Isgro's offense carrying the torch.

Grana and Abigail Wutka both had eight kills to complement Isgro while Zaibert and Bayer added six apiece. Roosevelt totaled 11 aces in the match with three from Bayer and two each from Grana, Cydney Martinez and Regan Miessler. Martinez had a team-best nine digs, edging out the eight from Grana. Zoe Hutchinson had 25 assists while Grana had 18 helpers on the night she was honored for reaching 1,000 career assists last weekend.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt will attempt to win consecutive matches for the first time in nearly two years Saturday when it hosts Lake Superior State for a 3 p.m. first serve at the Goodman Center.