CHICAGO – Roosevelt roared to life after the first set to claim its first victory of the season in four sets over Barry on Friday night at the Goodman Center.

It was a rough opening set for the Lakers (1-1) as they found a lot of hands in the setback. The Buccaneers had six blocks in the set and Roosevelt finished with 11 total attack errors to begin the match. Over the final three sets, the Lakers committed just 12 attack errors and Barry had just five blocks as Roosevelt swept past the Buccaneers.

Roosevelt swept the final three sets – 25-19, 25-22, 25-22 – after making a key lineup change in the second set. Braxton McGonigle entered the match and the Lakers' demeanor changed, resulting in a renewed defensive effort. The Lakers sided out on 80 percent of its attempts over the final three sets after doing so just half the time in the first set.

McGonigle was one of three Lakers who finished with double figures in digs with 10 in his three sets, energizing the team by chasing down balls to help keep points alive. Simone Mondin had 11 digs and Martino Bertagnoli finished with 10 in addition to his 38 assists in helping to run the Lakers' attack.  

McGonigle also made a difference at the net in giving the Lakers a more ferocious block for Barry to contend. The freshman added three blocks, all assisted, while Ashton Stage had four total blocks in the match and Jonathan Stovring added three stuffs. Roosevelt finished with eight blocks as a team, seven of which came in the final three sets.

Another key adjustment was the Lakers finding senior Mark Zmojdzin on the outside for attacking chances. The Prospect Heights, Ill. native had just two swings in the first set, but became the main option in the second set with five kills on eight attack. The senior was near unstoppable in the third set with eight kills and no errors on 10 attacking chances. Zmojdzin finished the match with a team-best 18 kills on a .500 hitting percentage to pace the Roosevelt attack.

With the senior leading the way, the Lakers hit .316 in the final three sets, including a dominant .560 in the third set when Roosevelt had 15 kills and just one error on 25 chances. McGonigle and Stovring both added seven kills to the effort and Andre Cippiciani had six kills while serving up two of Roosevelt's four aces in the match.

UP NEXT: The Lakers and Buccaneers will meet again Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the Goodman Center.