CHICAGO – A ferocious third-set rally fell short for Roosevelt in a straight-sets loss to Davenport on Friday night in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the Goodman Center.

The Lakers (1-13, 0-5 GLIAC) played from behind for most of the first two sets, falling 25-15 and 25-14 in the two games. However, the third set featured 16 ties and six lead changes as the two teams battled, one trying to stay alive in the match and one trying to finish it off. Roosevelt's first lead in the match came early in the third set when Kaylee Bayer served up an ace to make it 4-3 Lakers.

The lead stayed with Roosevelt for most of the set with the Lakers avoiding the long runs that hurt them in the first two sets. The Lakers actually had the first four set points, but Davenport was able to survive each of them with a key dig at the right time. Roosevelt was able to overcome the first two match-point opportunities, but the third one finally caught up to it as the Panthers won 30-28.

Alessia Isgro was a force in the first set for the Lakers with five kills and no errors, helping Roosevelt slowly crawl back from an early 6-1 hole. The graduate student from Italy cut the deficit to 13-11 with a kill then Isa Grana made it 14-12 with a kill of her own. However, the next five points went to the Panthers to help them pull away.

Nothing much went right for the Lakers in the second set after a 6-1 run ballooned Davenport's lead from 7-6 to 13-7. Roosevelt did not get closer than five the rest of the set as the Panthers pulled away.

Roosevelt's offense finally turned a corner in that third set with 20 kills and a .200 hitting percentage, led by five kills from Abigail Wutka and five from Ella Anne Portu. An ace from Grana gave the Lakers their biggest lead of the night at 8-4, but it was an advantage that did not hold up. Roosevelt trailed 2-0 and never trailed by multiple points again in the third set until match point was secured.

Isgro led the Lakers with 12 kills and she added 13 digs to become the first Roosevelt player this season to score a double-double. Wutka had nine kills and Grana added six to lead the attack while Zoe Hutchinson dished out 17 assists and Jessica Maier had 15 in setting up the offense. Cydney Martinez was all over the floor in earning 18 digs while Lihi Zaibert was part of four of Roosevelt's five blocks in the match.

UP NEXT: The Lakers stay at home Saturday for a battle against No. 16 Ferris State at 4 p.m. in the Goodman Center.