KENOSHA, Wis. – Roosevelt dropped a tough straight-sets match against Bemidji State on Thursday on the first day of the Hampton Inn Invitational hosted by Parkside in Kenosha, Wis.

The Lakers (1-4) were ready from the outset and jumped out to an early lead on the Beavers in the opening set. They did the same thing in the third set as well, but could not sustain the momentum as Bemidji State claimed the match 25-18, 25-16, 25-23.

Aleksandra Barac led Roosevelt with 11 kills and Lihi Zaibert added 10 to pace the Lakers attack. Vivienne Merchant smashed four kills on seven attempts, but the attacking errors added up for the Lakers as they hit just .118 in the match. Zoe Hutchinson had 11 assists and Isa Grana dished out 10 helpers, and Cydney Martinez again led the team with seven digs.

Slow starts were a struggle for Roosevelt during the opening weekend, but it was not an issue Thursday as the Lakers jumped out to an 11-4 lead on the back of an 8-1 run. Barac had three kills and Ella Anne Portu had two aces during the run to help Roosevelt seize the early control of the set. However, Bemidji State scored 15 of the next 18 points while the Lakers utilized both timeouts to try and stop the momentum.

It was a tough second set for the Lakers as they never truly were able to find their standing and they ended up playing catch up for the entire game. However, Roosevelt was poised to extend the match with a fantastic first three quarters of the third set. The Lakers scored five of the first six points and maintained their lead until the Beavers rallied to tie the set at 20. Barac and Zaibert combined for nine kills in the third set and Grana supplied eight of her assists.

UP NEXT: The Lakers return to Parkside on Friday for a pair of non-conference games. Roosevelt will face Winona State at 11 a.m. then take on Missouri S&T at 4:30 p.m., it will be the first match against both of those schools for the Lakers.