Men's Volleyball Falls to Maranatha Baptist & Olivet to Close Out Judson University Invite

ELGIN, Ill. – The Roosevelt University men's volleyball team closed out play in the Judson University Invite with a five-set loss to Maranatha Baptist University (Wis.) and a four-set defeat to Olivet College (Mich.) on Saturday, February 12 at Lindner Fitness Center.  The Lakers remain winless with a 0-7 record this season.

MATCH RECAP VS MARANATHA BAPTIST

In the opening match, Maranatha Baptist held a slight lead early on, but the Lakers scored five straight points to take a 14-11 advantage.  However, the Sabercats answered with a run of their own, scoring six consecutive points to regain the lead and continue the momentum for the 25-19 set win.

Roosevelt were the aggressors early in the second set, opening up a 10-5 lead, but Maranatha Baptist came back to even the set at 15-15.  The Lakers got things under control again, tallying the next four points and winning the set 25-21 to tie the match at 1-1.

The Sabercats scored the first three points of the third set and led 6-3 before the Lakers evened things up at 6-6.  However, Maranatha Baptist went on to score the next seven points to build a 13-7 advantage and led 22-15 late in the stanza.  Roosevelt fought back and pulled to within 23-22, but the deficit was too large to overcome and the Lakers lost 25-23 to trail 2-1 in the match.

In the fourth set, the Lakers broke a 5-5 tie and built a 14-10 advantage, but the Sabercats tied the set up late at 20-20.  Shawn McCarthy then came through with a kill and a service ace, and Terrance Young Jr. had two kills to propel RU to a 25-22 win and force a fifth and deciding set.

The fifth set was a tight affair with the Lakers holding a one-point lead on six different occasions.  However, Maranatha Baptist broke a 12-12 tie with back-to-back points to force match point at 14-12.  Kayan Abdou kept Roosevelt alive with a kill to make it 14-13, but the Sabercats scored the next point to win the set and the match.

MATCH DETAILS

Score:   Roosevelt                            19           25           23           25           13
                Maranatha Baptist           25           21           25           22           15

Records: Roosevelt 0-6 | Maranatha Baptist 2-10

Location: Lindner Fitness Center | Elgin, Ill.

KEY STATS

• Shawn McCarthy tallied a team-high 16 kills
• Terrance Young Jr. had 12 kills & two blocks
• Jack Rothwell registered 15 digs defensively
• Tony Galeana dished out 38 assists & had 11 digs
• Axel Garcia posted eight kills

MATCH RECAP VS OLIVET

In the second match of the day, the two teams were tied at 5-5 early on in the opening set before Olivet scored the next three points to jump ahead.  The Lakers came back to tie things up at 14-14 and the set was also tied at 17-17 when the Comets once again put together a string of three straight points to lead 20-17.  Roosevelt closed the gap to 22-21 on three consecutive kills by Terrance Young Jr., but Olivet closed out the set with the next three points to win 25-21.

The Lakers raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set and were ahead 9-5 later in the stanza.  The Comets narrowed the gap to 14-13 before Roosevelt extended its lead to 17-13, but Olivet went on a 6-0 run to take the lead for good and win the set 25-20 for a 2-0 match lead.

In the third set, the Lakers once again jumped out to an early lead, building a 9-3 advantage.  Roosevelt maintained its lead through the remainder of the set, holding off a late comeback by the Comets, who trailed 23-20 late, to win 25-21.

Olivet grabbed the lead for good early on in the fourth set, breaking a 3-3 tie and building an 18-10 margin.  The Lakers chipped away at the deficit, closing the gap to three points at 21-18, but the Comets held off the rally and won 25-20 to take the match in four sets.

MATCH DETAILS

Score:   Roosevelt            21           20           25           20
                Olivet                    25           25           21           25

Records: Roosevelt 0-7 | Olivet 4-6

Location: Lindner Fitness Center | Elgin, Ill.

KEY STATS

• Shawn McCarthy posted a double-double with 11 kills & 14 digs
• Kayan Abdou tallied 10 kills & five digs
• Jack Rothwell registered 14 digs defensively
• Tony Galeana had a double-double with 34 assists & 16 digs
• Terrance Young Jr. posted six kills & three blocks

NEXT UP

The Lakers travel to the south side of Chicago on Tuesday, February 15 to take on 15^th ranked St. Xavier University.  The CCAC Conference match is scheduled to begin at 7pm at the Shannon Center on the campus of St. Xavier.