Lakers Grounded By 20th-Ranked Pilots In Non-Conference Finale

MISHAWAKA, Ind. – Roosevelt held its own for three sets Saturday despite being swept by No. 20 Bethel in a non-conference match in Mishawaka, Ind.

The scoreline showed a 25-19, 25-20, 25-17 win for the Pilots, but it did not do justice to the effort from the Lakers against a top-20 foe. Yuliia Shchepkina led the team with 14 kills and had a hitting percentage of .500 in the match. Emily DeBlecourt and Viktoria Marysheva added five kills each while Olivia Adams joined DeBlecourt in serving up three aces. Marysheva and Alyssa Rodda tied for the team lead with seven digs each, and Logan Cofield led the way with a solo block and assisted on one of Roosevelt's two other blocks in the match.

The Lakers (7-12) dropped five of the first six points in the first set, but they were able to keep pace with the Pilots fairly quickly. Roosevelt won seven of the next eight points, capped off by a pair of aces from  DeBlecourt to claim the lead back. That advantage would hold until Bethel went on a 6-0 run to take a 16-13 lead, and though the Lakers never led the first set again, they rarely fell behind by more than two points.

In the second set, Roosevelt won four of the first five points before Bethel took 10 of the next 11. The Lakers settled in after falling behind 11-5 and whittled the deficit down to four at one point before the Pilots finally emerged with the win. Roosevelt played from behind for the entire third set to complete the sweep.

Roosevelt will face Indiana South Bend next Saturday at 3 p.m. in Indiana, the first of two meetings in two weeks between the Lakers and Titans.