ROLLA, Mo. – Roosevelt could not keep its momentum rolling with a pair of losses Saturday at the Miners Invite in Rolla, Missouri.

The Lakers began the day with a tight three-set loss to Rockhurst before dropping a four-setter to hosts Missouri S&T. Diego Esquivel led the Lakers (3-15) with 21 kills across the two matches while Kajetan Bieniek added 20 kills and Mark Zmojdzin had 17 kills and five blocks.

ROCKHURST 3, ROOSEVELT 0
The match could not have started much better for the Lakers after Rockhurst took a timeout just two points into the proceedings. Roosevelt jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set and maintained the lead for much of the first half of the set. However, the Hawks took the lead at 17-16 and the Lakers never led again as Rockhurst scored the final four points of the set for a 25-19 win.

The Lakers took a timeout early in the second set after the Hawks went on a 6-1 run and Roosevelt could not get closer than three points in a 25-15 setback. Roosevelt had more chances in the third set, clawing back to within a point several times late in the game before Rockhurst won three straight points to go up 24-19 in an eventual 25-20 win in the third set.

Esquivel had six of his team-best 11 kills in the opening set and hit .429 for the match, and Zmojdzin added four of his seven in the opener as well. Andrea Di Paola added six kills for the Lakers and Michele Bascape assisted on 23 points.

MISSOURI S&T 3, ROOSEVELT 1
As well as the Lakers started against Rockhurst, Missouri S&T was equally as strong in this match. The Miners raced out to a 4-0 lead before the Lakers quickly began to make up ground on the hosts. A 7-3 lead for the Miners disappeared as Roosevelt won eight of the next nine points en route to taking control of the set. Bieniek and Esquivel both had four kills in the 25-19 Roosevelt win in the opening set as the Lakers hit .310 as a team while limiting the Miners to .076.

The second set got away from the Lakers during a 6-0 run in the middle of the game, allowing Missouri S&T to knot the match with a 25-17 win in the second set. The Miners won the third set 25-15 after going on a 5-1 run to pull away and force a second timeout from the Lakers.

Roosevelt looked ready to force a fifth set when it blitzed out to a 6-0 lead in the fourth behind four errors from the Miners. Missouri S&T scored 12 of the next 15 points to take a three-point lead and the Miners maintained the lead until a Zmojdzin kill tied the set at 19. Esquivel served up an ace to give Roosevelt a brief lead, then the Lakers staved off two match points with Di Paola delivering the hammer to tie the set at 24.

The Lakers did not earn a single set point in the fourth set after the strong start, eventually falling 30-28 to close out the match. Zmojdzin had six kills on six swings in the fourth set and Bieniek added five kills in the set as well. Bieniek led the Lakers with 16 kills overall in the match and his .294 hitting percentage was second-best to Zmojdzin. The junior hit .615 with 10 kills and four blocks while Esquivel had 10 kills and Di Paola had nine.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt takes a special trip Wednesday to face head coach Kelly Magliano's alma mater Wisconsin Stevens-Point at 6 p.m.