Lakers Take Down Pomeroys, Set Wins Record

SAINT MARY OF THE WOODS, Ind. – Roosevelt's offense picked up at the right moment Tuesday to help the Lakers set a new program record with a four-set win over St. Mary of the Woods in Indiana.

The Lakers earned their program-record fourth win of the season to improve to 4-7 overall on the year. They looked frustrated after dropping the third set and won the first four points and six of the first seven points in the fourth set. Yet the momentum did not last and the Pomeroys were able to rally and take an 18-15 lead, and looked poised to push the match to deciding fifth set. St. Mary of the Woods had two set points in the fourth set that Roosevelt was able to fight off, setting up the Lakers to win four of the final five points with Conrad Para knocking down two kills and winning the match with a block.

Para and Shawn McCarthy tied for the team lead with 13 kills apiece while Daniel Mahoney smacked down 11 kills as well to help the cause. Tony Galeana dished out 40 assists in the win and libero Christopher Fermaintt had 13 digs, one more than McCarthy on defense. Joseph Claffy was an asset with his six kills on 10 attacks as well as three blocks in the match.

It looked like Roosevelt was going to head to Indiana and pick up a quick victory after dominating the opening two sets on offense. The Lakers hit .231 in both sets to take an early 2-0 lead behind their efficient attack. Roosevelt won the opening set 25-15 after a critical 9-2 run in the middle of the set the comfortably won the second set 25-22 after winning 13 of the first 19 points.

The Lakers never found a rhythm in the third set after losing five of the first six points, never closing the deficit below four points in a 25-17 setback. Roosevelt had a .031 hitting percentage in the third set and gifted the Pomeorys 11 points off miscues, including three service errors. Even after starting the fourth set off with plenty of momentum, the Lakers allowed the Pomeroys to claw back to 11-11 and never trail by more than a point until Para's block sealed the match on Roosevelt's second match point.

The Lakers return to the court Thursday at 7 p.m. back at the Goodman Center when they host Judson in a conference matchup.