CHICAGO – When Roosevelt and Olivet Nazarene meet at the Goodman Center, a barnburner should always be the expectation.
Tuesday night was no different as the Lakers held off the Tigers in five sets in downtown Chicago, marking the third straight time the two teams have gone the distance. It is Roosevelt's third win over Olivet Nazarene in its history, a span that includes the two schools being conference rivals from 2011-2023.
There were 31 total ties and 11 lead changes across the five sets, including eight ties and five lead swaps in the final game. Olivet Nazarene raced out to a 25-15 win in the opening set, but Roosevelt responded with a 25-22 victory in the second. The Tigers took the third 26-24 before the Lakers (2-2) rolled to a 25-15 win in the fourth set to force the decider, where Roosevelt eked out a 15-13 edge.
Abigail Wutka led the Lakers offense with 13 kills, recording three each in the final three sets while swinging a .257 in the match. McKenzie Bernard added seven kills and six blocks in the match, improving as the match wore along to play a big factor in Roosevelt's win. Merryck Brackett found a groove at setter and recorded 23 assists, and the sophomore was one of six Lakers to record an ace in the victory.
Roosevelt was unable to find much of a footing in the opening set, but it raced out to a 4-1 lead in the second set. Olivet Nazarene kept the set tight and even took a 22-20 lead before the Lakers scored the final five points of the set on five consecutive Tigers errors.
The Lakers' attack truly came alive in the fourth set with nine kills to just two errors while the Roosevelt defense stuffed three Tigers attacks. Bernard and Wutka both had three kills in the fourth set and helped the Lakers stretch the lead to as many as 13 to force the decider. In the fifth, a crucial timeout helped Roosevelt steady itself late and Wutka smacked down two straight kills to end the match.
UP NEXT: Roosevelt will hit the road to West Virginia on Friday for the first two matches of a three-match weekend. The Lakers will head to West Virginia State on Friday for matches against Concord and the hosts before a rematch Saturday against Charleston on the road.
