Complete PDF Notes

Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: Lourdes returns home to Tam-o-Shanter on Saturday afternoon as the Gray Wolves resume MAMVIC East play entertaining fourth-ranked Saint Ambrose.  The Gray Wolves are playing their third home match in the first four contests of the season, and will play four of their first seven at home before taking to the road for 14 straight matches.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his second season both on the Lourdes bench, and overall coaching men's volleyball, Greg Reitz has a 17-12 (.586) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  He was named to the MAMVIC East Coach of the Year in 2012.  Reitz is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Saint Ambrose leads the all-time series with Lourdes 3-0, sweeping all three matches from the Gray Wolves last year.  The Bees were ranked number one in the country in all three contests.  Lourdes faced Saint Ambrose in a doubleheader to open the Gray Wolves' program on Jan. 17, 2012, losing a pair of matches 3-0 and 3-1.  The Gray Wolves then faced the Bees against in the MAMVIC East tournament in Chicago on March 30, falling in four sets in the semifinals.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes outplayed NCAA Division I IPFW in nearly every statistical category last Friday evening, but was swept in three sets by the Mastodons 25-22, 27-25, 25-20.  The Gray Wolves committed 18 service errors which proved to be the difference in the match.  Nick DiMarco led Lourdes with 12 kills while Oliver Cizmazia handed out 36 assists.  Trevor Lund had a team-high nine digs and also led the Gray Wolves with five blocks in the loss.

Scouting Saint Ambrose: The Bees had their five-match winning streak snapped on Tuesday evening with a five-set loss at Cardinal Stritch.  The contest was tight throughout with the Wolves pulling out a 15-13 win in set five.  Saint Ambrose plays two matches at Siena Heights on Friday night before traveling to Lourdes.  Kyle Schwetz leads the Bees with 71 kills and is hitting .452 this season while also registering 41 blocks.  Nick Lynch has handed out 254 assists and Corey Grove has a team-high 55 digs.
 
Swinging Well: The Gray Wolves attempt to pull off an upset in their first match ever against a NCAA Division I opponent did not occur, but it was not for a lack of offensive attack.  Lourdes hit a season-high .299 in the contest, including a prolific .323 clip in set one.  Frank Craig hit .500 on eight swings while Zander Epps hit .444 on nine attempts.  Nick DiMarco had 12 kills on his way to a .391 hitting night.

Another Ranked Foe: Saint Ambrose is the second ranked opponent the Gray Wolves will face this year after already battling #9 Cardinal Stritch in a four-set loss.

Streaking: Lourdes opened the 2013 season winning the first four sets of the season, all in fairly convincing fashion.  The Gray Wolves have dropped their last six sets in a row though, four of which have been by three points or less.  Two of the sets in which Lourdes has suffered setbacks in have gone to extra points.

Assisting When He Can: Freshman Oliver Cizmazia ranks second in all of the MAMVIC averaging 10.0 assists per set.  The rookie handed out 36 helpers in the three-set loss at IPFW, and already has 100 total assists this year.

A Four-Headed Monster: Four players have registered a majority of the kills this season for Lourdes.  Nick DiMarco, Trevor Lund, Chris Lockwood, and Frank Craig have combined for 103 of the 119 kills by the Gray Wolves this season or 86.6% of the offense.  DiMarco leads the way with 8 kills while Lund has added 29 more.

Digging Them Up: Brad Miller has registered 26 digs for Lourdes in the first three matches of the season, leading the way.  The sophomore is averaging 2.6 digs per set, a mark that ranks second among all MAMVIC players this season.

Serving Up Aces: Oliver Cizmazia ranks second among all MAMVIC players averaging 0.60 aces per set.  The freshman tallied two more last Friday at IPFW and with six on the season has recorded half of Lourdes aces on the year.

Captains Named: Senior Nick DiMarco and junior Trevor Lund have been named team captains for the 2013 season.  DiMarco led the Gray Wolves with 342 kills one season ago and will be a two-time team captain.  Lund will be in his first season at Lourdes after transferring in from Irvine Valley College.

New Faces: Of the 13 players on the 2013 roster, only six return from last season.  Nick DiMarco and Zander Epps are the lone seniors on this year's squad, which also features four freshmen and three transfers.

Jumping Into Conference Action: Lourdes will play MAMVIC East matches in eight of their first 10 contests this season, including the first two of the year last weekend.  The Gray Wolves also have a stretch of nine straight non-conference contests on the slate, but that stretch of matches will not begin until Feb. 23.

Facing NCAA Division I Opponents: In the second year of men's volleyball, the match at IPFW will mark Lourdes first contest against a NCAA Division I opponent in the sport.  With the athletic program in existence for only the third year, the Gray Wolves women's basketball became the first team to face a NCAA Division I foe earlier this year when Lourdes traveled to Detroit.

This and That: Julian Rivera made his collegiate debut, serving the final point at IPFW ... Lourdes has committed 48 service errors already this season (4.8 per set), including 18 in the loss at IPFW ... there were a total of 26 ties and 10 lead changes over the three sets in the match against the Mastodons.