CHICAGO – With match point looming Saturday, head coach Kelly Magliano looked into her huddle and found the eyes of sophomore setter Martino Bertagnoli.
The message from the fifth-year Roosevelt coach was simple – good pass and find Mark. The Mark in question was senior Mark Zmojdzin, who in his third season is the longest-tenured player on the Roosevelt roster. He already had three kills in the fifth and final set and led the team with 15 kills as the Lakers clung to a 14-13 lead over Missouri S&T.
Simone Augugliaro handled the service wonderfully to put Bertagnoli in position to find Zmojdzin. The pass was perfectly placed for Zmojdzin to leap and fire a crosscourt winner inside the back left corner for a thrilling five-set win over the Miners in Great Lakes Valley Conference action at the Goodman Center. It was Roosevelt's first win in five matches against Missouri S&T, having lost the previous four matches by a combined score of 12-1.
Missouri S&T opened up a little breathing room early in the first set with a 4-0 run that led to a Lakers timeout. Roosevelt worked its way back to within two on a handful occasions, but even six kills from Augugliaro in the first set could not prevent the Miners from walking away with a 25-22 win.
The second set was more like the three sets the two teams played Friday as the second set was tied 15 times and the lead changed hands six times. Kajetan Bieniek came up with a kill to tie the set at 22, and it was the Lakers who seized momentum from that kill. Zmojdzin and Jonathan Stovring teamed up for a block to give Roosevelt a 23-22 lead then Andre Cippiciani found the floor for an ace. Stovring and Zmojdzin teamed up again on set point for the block that tied the match at one set apiece.
The Miners ran away for a 25-15 win in the third set, putting the Lakers in a do-or-die situation in the fourth set. They responded by jumping out to a 7-3 lead and never turning back in an eventual 25-19 victory to force the deciding fifth set. It was a moment to shine for Ashton Stage, who played incredible defense in a critical point late in the set. With the Lakers scrambling after a dig, Stage came up with an improbable hit to keep the rally alive, and it eventually ended with Stage smashing down a kill.
Roosevelt controlled the fifth set from the jump with a 5-1 lead courtesy of a pair of aces from Augugliaro. The deficit stayed in the three- to four-point range when Bieniek rose up for a kill to give the Lakers three match points. A pair of attacking errors forced a second timeout from Roosevelt, and Magliano turned to her setter with the simple message.
Bertagnoli finished on 47 assists in the match, 10 of which came in the deciding set as he masterfully handled the Lakers offense. Four Roosevelt players ended in double figures for kills, led by 16 from Zmojdzin and 14 from Augugliaro. Bieniek finished with 12 kills and 10 digs, and Stovring had 11 in addition to three blocks. Simone Mondin led a spirited Roosevelt defensive effort and finished with nine digs and a pair of assists.
UP NEXT: Roosevelt will leave the state of the Illinois for the first time in nearly two months next week as the Lakers head to Bolivar, Mo. to face Southwest Baptist in a pair of GLVC matches Friday and Saturday.
