Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Lourdes University dropped a pair of matches on Saturday afternoon to wrap up play at the Michigan-Dearborn Earlybird Challenge played at the UMD Field house in Dearborn, Mich.  The Gray Wolves lost their first match of the day 25-12, 25-14, 25-19 against Bethel (Ind.) before falling 25-22, 20-25, 27-25, 25-21 against Indiana-South Bend in the finale.
 
“Today was a similar story to yesterday, in that we made way too many errors to give ourselves a chance to win,” head coach Greg Reitz said.  “It is hard when we don't perform in matches the way we are practicing.  Our technique seemed to break down in stressful situations.”
 
In the morning match against the Pilots, Bethel hit a blistering .565 in set one with 14 kills to take the opener.  The Gray Wolves struggled hitting offensively in set two, committing 12 errors, and Bethel scored nine of the set's final 11 points to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Lourdes battled back in set three, trailing 7-2 early, before pulling within one, 14-13.  The Gray Wolves committed just four attack errors in the set, but the Pilots answered Lourdes' run with four straight points of their own to pull away and secure the match.
 
Katie McKenty (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame H.S.) paced Lourdes offense with 10 kills in the match while Shayna Lindley (Toledo, Ohio/Rossford H.S.) added five.  Michi Jimenez (Vega Baja, P.R ./Juan Quirindongo Morrell H.S.) had a team-high nine digs at libero.
 
Bethel (4-3) hit .365 for the match, led by Alicia Carlton's 14 kills and .684 hitting percentage.  Heather Gats and Amanda Troyer each had eight digs for the Pilots.
 
The afternoon match against the Titans saw Lourdes race out to a quick 10-4 lead in the opening set.  The Gray Wolves took advantage of numerous errors by Indiana-South Bend, and still held a five-point advantage, 13-8, midway through the set.  An 11-3 run by the Titans gave them the lead, only for Lourdes to battle back and tie the set at 22.  Indiana-South Bend scored the final three points of the set though to strike first in the match.
 
Shauna Miller (Austin, Texas/Wimberly H.S.) served the first six points of set two for the Gray Wolves, but IUSB tallied six of the next seven to pull within one at 7-6.  A pair of Chelsea Haas (Holland, Ohio/Springfield H.S.) service aces spurred a 9-2 Lourdes run, pushing the advantage to 17-9 and the Gray Wolves hung on to even the match at a set each.
 
Trailing 9-6 in set three, Lourdes went on a 16-6 run, again behind the serving of Miller and Mass, and appeared poised to take a 2-1 lead in the match, leading 22-15.  Indiana-South Bend scored six straight points, five coming on attacking errors by the Gray Wolves, eventually evening the set and forcing extra points.  The Titans scored the final three points of the set, and they were the team to build the one-set lead heading into the fourth.
 
IUSB led 11-7 in what would become the final set, only to see Lourdes score five straight points to take the lead, three coming on kills by Ali Mass (Walbridge, Ohio/Tiffin Calvert H.S.).  The set would go back and forth until the Titans took a two-point advantage at 18-16.  The Gray Wolves answered with five of the next seven points to go on top 21-20, only to see IUSB score the final five points of the match. 
 
“When we were close in sets we found ways to give points away,” stated Reitz.
 
McKenty again led the Gray Wolves with 19 kills from the outside, hitting .234 in the match.
 
“Katie played well again today, despite spraining her ankle yesterday,” Reitz added.
 
Mass added 15 kills while Miller handed out 33 assists.  Haas finished with three aces and 17 digs while McKenty and Jimenez each had 12 digs.
 
Krystle Troyer and Melissa Macerelli led Indiana-South Bend (1-4) with nine kills each while Troyer also picked up 15 blocks.
 
Lourdes (4-5) will return to action on Wednesday evening, traveling to Adrian, Mich. to battle Siena Heights.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Fieldhouse against the Saints in the non-conference contest.