CHICAGO – The energy in the Goodman Center matched the moment Friday night even though Roosevelt fell in four sets to Great Lakes Valley Conference-leading Maryville.

With the Lakers and Saints facing off with important implications, downtown Chicago provided a fantastic atmosphere for two of the GLVC's best teams. Maryville entered the match on a 13-game winning streak and had won its previous 30 sets as well, but Roosevelt was ready for the challenge.

It began on defense where Simone Mondin was all over the floor for the Lakers as he became just the second player to ever record 20 digs in a match. The freshman from Italy had seven digs in the second set then added six more in the fourth, keeping plays alive with his hustle and determination. He also was credited with four assists, finding himself in the right place to set up the offense when needed.

Maryville won the opening set 25-20, but it wasn't without a strong showing from Roosevelt (14-7, 6-3 GLVC) to start the match. Fueled by the dozens of Roosevelt student-athletes from other sports in attendance, the Lakers hit .375 in the first set as the play went back-and-forth pretty evenly. Kajetan Bieniek had five of his team-best 16 kills in the first set and Mark Zmojdzin added four to help pace a shorthanded Roosevelt attack.

The second set belonged to the Lakers as Mondin's ability to keep plays alive merged perfectly with Roosevelt's defense at the net. Martino Bertagnoli was part of three blocks in the second set and the Lakers limited the Saints to just seven kills and a .031 hitting percentage. Roosevelt led by as much as 23-14 before Maryville went on a run that ended with Zmojdzin finishing the set with a kill to snap Maryville's set streak at 31 with a 25-22 victory.

The Lakers forced some small adjustments from the Saints after the intermission, and Roosevelt was a little less precise with its attacks. Roosevelt hit in the negatives in the third set as Maryville escaped the early back-and-forth with a 25-15 win. The Saints won the fourth set 25-18 after scoring the first nine points of the set, but the Lakers closed to within six a handful of times late to put some pressure on Maryville's serves.

Bieniek hit .324 with his 16 kills and Zmojdzin finished with 13 kills, though he worked hard for those points with 51 attacks in the match. Andre Cippiciani battled through injury to score eight kills and Bertagnoli finished with 31 assists and five blocks in the match. Elsewhere on the defense, Bieniek had seven digs to complement Mondin while Jonathan Stovring had four blocks and Ashton Stage also added four stuffs.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt gets another shot to give Maryville its first conference loss when the two meet Saturday at 2 p.m. back at the Goodman Center.