Shchepkina, Lakers Shut Down Crimson Wave

WHITING, Ind. – Roosevelt's front line dominated at the net to lead the Lakers to a four-set win over Calumet St. Joseph on Saturday afternoon in Whiting, Ind.

After playing three straight five-set matches against Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference foes, the Lakers were able to edge out the Crimson Wave 28-26, 17-25, 26-24, 25-21 to move to 7-11 overall and 3-16 in conference play. A major reason for the victory was the Roosevelt's play at the net, which led to 11 blocks and a .245 hitting percentage in the victory.

In particular, freshman Yuliia Shchepkina was a brick wall with nine total blocks, which is the second-most blocks in a single match in program history. The Naperville product also added 12 kills to complete her standout performance for the Lakers.

Shchepkina was at her best in the third set to turn a 10-4 deficit into a 13-10 lead with an incredible 9-0 run that turned the tide. She was involved in six of those nine points for Roosevelt with three kills and three blocks. Then in the fourth set, she blocked three attacks and smashed down a kill as part of an 8-2 run that helped the Lakers seize control of the set.

Roosevelt made sure to keep fans on the edge of their seat for the entire match with wild swings of momentum. In the first set, the Lakers led 21-18 before allowing a 4-0 run with the two teams trading points until the end when Olivia Adams served up an ace. In the third set, the Lakers built a 22-17 lead and then led 24-21 before the Crimson Wave tied the score. Brooke Williams broke the tie with a kill before Roosevelt forced the attacking error to win the set.

The fourth set was a roller coaster as the Lakers surged out to a 10-4 lead only to drop eight of the next nine points. Calumet St. Joseph eventually built a 19-16 edge, but that only motivated the Lakers even more as they emerged from a timeout to wrangle away the match. A service error gave the ball back to Roosevelt and Adams then served up five straight points to give the Lakers the lead. With a three-point lead, the Lakers made the most of their attacks with Isa Grana, Logan Cofield and Williams cementing the match with kills to finish off the Crimson Wave.

Viktoria Marysheva led the way with 13 kills for the Lakers and Joana Rafols added nine with Emily DeBlecourt chipping in eight kills as well. Zoe Hutchinson and Grana teamed up to tee up 45 assists, 29 for Hutchinson and 16 for Grana. The Lakers did a lot of work digging out attacks, led by Catarina Calabrese with 18, DeBlecourt with 15 and Olivia Adams with 11 as part of 70 total for the team.

Roosevelt takes a break from CCAC play for its next match Saturday at noon when it travels to Bethel (Ind.) for the final non-conference match of the season.