CHICAGO – Roosevelt's resilience was on full display Saturday as the Lakers survived a five-set thriller with Purdue Northwest in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the Goodman Center.
The Lakers (5-6, 2-2 GLIAC) took the first two sets in the match and were two points away from closing out the match in straight sets. However, the Lions fought back to take the third and fourth sets then led 5-3 early in the fifth. Yet six straight points with Imani Lee at the service line turned the tide for Roosevelt to close out the fifth set 15-9.
Lee's dominance at the service line was a common theme for the Lakers as she served up four of Roosevelt's 10 aces in the match. The Lakers had four aces of their own in the fifth set alone – two from Lee and one each from Isa Grana and Alessia Isgro, whose ace set up match point. Even the final point of the match was created by a strong serve from Isgro that led to a free ball that Braelyn Marshall finished with authority.
In the opening set, the two teams were tied 19 times and the lead changed hands 10 times as both schools looked to set the tone. The Lakers had all four set points in the opener behind six kills on 11 swings from Lee and four kills from Makena Wesol. After securing the 28-26 win in the first set, Roosevelt rolled to a 25-15 win in the second set after winning five of the first six points.
Roosevelt was tied 14 times in the third set, including a 23-23, but the lead only changed twice as Purdue Northwest took it 25-23. The fourth set got out of hand quickly for Roosevelt and thew Lions took advantage to the tune of 25-18 to force the decisive set.
Lee finished with 15 kills to lead the team and Abigail Wutka joined her in double figures with 10 kills. Kaylee Bayer had eight kills with no errors on 15 attempts and Ella Anne Portu added seven as well. Wutka registered four blocks to tie Wesol for the team lead in the match. Four players finished in double figures for digs, led by 19 from Isgro and 17 from Lee while Madison Howard had 11 and Merryck Bracket chipped in 10 along with her 26 assists.
UP NEXT: The Lakers hit the road next week with trips to Saginaw Valley State on Friday at 5 p.m. and Wayne State on Saturday at 3 p.m.
