Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: Lourdes opens its third season of women's collegiate volleyball season this weekend at the Concordia (Mich.) Kick-off Tournament on Friday and Saturday.  The Gray Wolves will face Rochester and Lawrence Tech on the opening day of play before battling Mount Vernon Nazarene in the first match on Saturday.  Saturday's second match will be determined based upon the standings in each of the two pools.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his third season on the Lourdes bench, Greg Reitz has a 33-38 (.465) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  In his fifth season overall as a women's head coach, Reitz has a 53-73 (.421) career mark.  He is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Lourdes leads the all-time series against Rochester 2-1, with all three meetings coming during the Gray Wolves' inaugural 2010 season.  Lourdes has won two straight meetings between the two schools, including a 3-1 victory on Oct. 6, 2010 in the most recent match between the two sides.  The Gray Wolves are 3-0 all-time against Lawrence Tech, winning all three matches during the 2011 season.  In the most recent contest, the Gray Wolves posted a 3-0 victory at home on Oct. 21, 2011.  Mount Vernon  Nazarene won the only previous meeting against Lourdes, a 3-0 decision on Oct. 23, 2010 as part of the Gray Wolf Invitational.

Wrapping Up 2011: The Gray Wolves finished the 2011 campaign with a 12-21 record overall.  In their first season as members of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, Lourdes posted a 1-8 record, tying for eighth in the WHAC standings.  Hannah Thompson earned the school's first conference honors, being named Honorable Mention All-WHAC as well as to the Champions of Character Team.

Scouting Rochester: The Warriors finished 35-25 during 2011 and advanced to the semifinals of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association tournament one year ago.  Rochester returns 12 players from last year's roster, and have five seniors on this year's squad.  Niki McKerracher led all Warrior returnees  with 236 kills and 151 blocks last season while Meryl Cunningham had 54 service aces.  

Scouting Lawrence Tech: The Blue Devils posted a 5-25 record in 2011 and are one of two newcomers to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference this season (along with Marygrove).  Lawrence Tech has just two returnees from last year's squad, one of whom is Kelsey Haener who was second on the team with 200 kills and 258 digs.

Scouting Mount Vernon Nazarene: The Cougars finished 2011 with a 13-23 mark overall and a 5-13 record in the Mid-Central Collegiate Conference, placing eighth.  Kendra Votaw led Mount Vernon Nazarene with 243 kills while Kaylee Hewitt had a team-best 457 digs.  Lauren Percival led the Cougars with 945 assists in 2011.

Elsewhere in the Tournament: Lourdes is in Pool B for the opening tournament at Concordia while the host Cardinals (18-18 in 2011), Calumet (2-31), and Ohio State-Marion, and Purdue-North Central (9-25) make up Pool A.  The top team in each pool will face each other in the championship on Saturday, while the second place teams will meet each other and so forth.

Lourdes in Season Openers: The Gray Wolves are a perfect 2-0 in season openers over the first two seasons of the program's existence.  In the inaugural season of 2010, Lourdes defeated Concordia 3-0 in this same Concordia Kick-off Tournament.  Last season, the Gray Wolves were 3-1 victors over Marygrove on the road to open the 2011 season.

Captains Named: Juniors Allegra Recknagel and Lola Hidalgo have each been named team captains by coach Greg Reitz for the 2012 season.  

Lots of New Faces: Of the 19 players on the 2012 roster, only nine return from last season.  Shelby Schuster and Kirstin Kirk are the squad's lone seniors, while five freshmen and six transfers have been added to the roster for the upcoming year.

Looking for First Tournament Title: Lourdes is looking for its first tournament title after not winning an in-season tournament during the first two years of the program's existence.  The Gray Wolves have posted a 3-1 record in three different tournaments thus far, but have never gone a perfect 4-0.

Lawrence Tech to Become a Familiar Foe: The match with Lawrence Tech will be the first of three against the Blue Devils this season for the Gray Wolves. Lourdes will also entertain Lawrence Tech at its own Gray Wolf Invitational in September while traveling to Southfield, Mich. for a WHAC clash in October.

This and That: Ali Mass is Lourdes top returnee in terms of kills from last season with 117 while Kirstin Kirk had 167 digs, most among returnees ... Hannah Thompson returns to the Gray Wolves bench as an assistant coach this season after playing for Lourdes each of the last two years ... 22 of 33 matches were decided in three sets in 2011 while just five went the full five sets.