Lakers Edged Out By CCAC-Leading Eagles On Road

ELGIN, Ill. – Roosevelt battled toe-to-toe with the leaders of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, but the Lakers came up short of a four-set decision against Judson on Tuesday night in Elgin.

For the second time this season, the Lakers (8-13, 4-7 CCAC) put the early pressure on the Eagles by winning the first set of the match. Isa Grana served up a pair of aces to give Roosevelt an early lead and the Lakers didn't relinquish it, even extending it to as many as 18-10. Even when Judson closed the gap to 24-23, Joana Rafols came up with the solo block to close out the opening set to finish with six kills and two blocks in the opener.

Rafols continued firing early in the second set with four more kills to help Roosevelt take a 17-12 lead. The Lakers jumped out to a large lead in the third set as well by scoring nine of the first 12 points in the game. That set up a pair of set points in the third set to claim the lead in the match before Judson rallied for a 26-24 win. Roosevelt never gave up in the fourth set after falling behind 7-1, twice coming within a point of tying the set, but the Eagles held on 25-18.

Four different Roosevelt attackers finished with double-digit kills led by Rafols with 15 while hitting .268. Emily DeBlecourt, Viktoria Marysheva and Yuliia Shchepkina all had 10 kills with DeBlecourt adding 11 digs for a double-double. Rafols also had a double-double with a team-best 21 digs while Grana added 11 digs to her 40 assists. Grana, Rafols and Shchepkina all had two blocks in the match to lead the Lakers to nine total blocks.

The Lakers' race to the end of the regular season continues Thursday night in Joliet when Roosevelt faces St. Francis at 7 p.m.