Lakers Settle For Split At Viterbo Tri-Match

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Roosevelt earned a hard-fought split Friday afternoon at the tri-match hosted by Viterbo in La Crosse, Wis.

The Lakers opened the day with a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference match against the host V-Hawks, and fell in a tight five-set affair. Roosevelt (8-9, 1-1 CCAC) responded with an emphatic sweep of Maranatha Baptist in a non-conference match.

The first match of the day was a disappointing outcome for the Lakers after capturing the first and third sets. Roosevelt hit .414 in the opening set to win it 25-21 before dropping the second set 25-14. The Lakers responded with a 25-15 win in the third set behind a pair of aces from Diego Esquivel during a backbreaking 5-0 run early in the set. Viterbo captured the fourth set 25-19 and edged out the Lakers 15-13 in the fifth set to claim the match.

Andrea DiPaola led the Lakers with 21 kills in the loss, followed closely by Mark Zmojdzin's 17 kills on a .179 hitting percentage. Esquivel served up three aces along with his 12 kills and Lachlan Diamond had two blocks to go along with eight kills. Michele Bascape finished with 49 assists while Miguel Mendez Palencia led the team with 12 digs.

Coming off the frustrating setback, the Lakers showed the Sabercats no mercy in claiming their match 25-14, 25-14, 25-13. Roosevelt rotated its lineup in the match with eight different players finishing with kills, including eight from Diamond and eight more from Palencia. Daniel Magana-Huynh dished out 23 assists as the Lakers' main setter while Palencia and Piero Eletto finished with a team-best seven digs each.

Roosevelt returns to action Tuesday night at the Goodman Center when they welcome Olivet Nazarene in another CCAC contest at 7 p.m.