Box Score
Lourdes began its final homestand of the regular season on Friday evening with a 25-21, 25-18, 25-10 sweep of Saint Xavier at Springfield High School to notch its fourth straight victory, matching its longest winning streak of the season.
 
The Gray Wolves started slow in the opening set, falling behind by as many as six.  Lourdes pulled to within one, 18-17 before the Cougars pushed the lead back to four with three straight points.  Oliver Cizmazia (Bratislavsa, Slovakia/Metodova H.S.) served out the set though as the Gray Wolves tallied the final eight points of the set.
 
“We really battled back to win that first set and then kept the momentums going after that,” head coach Greg Reitz stated.  “That is something we have struggled with all season so it was great to see us continue to keep up the pace.”
 
A 6-1 run early in set two gave the Gray Wolves some breathing room as Lourdes built a 15-8 lead.  The advantage grew to as many as 10 before Saint Xavier made a late rally, cutting the lead to six before Lourdes secured the set victory.
 
In set three Lourdes raced out to a 7-1 lead behind three straight blocks and extended the advantage to 14-3.  The lead swelled to 21-7 before the Gray Wolves finished off the match, securing the win, hitting .476 for the set in the process.
 
“That third set is about as well as we have played all year,” Reitz added.
 
Trevor Lund (Laguna Hills, Calif./Laguna Hills H.S.) and Nick DiMarco (Torrance, Calif./South Torrance H.S.) tallied 12 kills each to lead the way offensively as Lourdes hit .282 as a team.  Frank Craig (Jacksonville, Fla./Englewood H.S.) hit .556 while adding four blocks and Steve Barcus (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon H.S.) handed out 31 assists.
 
Defensively, Brad Miller (Convoy, Ohio/Crestview H.S.) tallied a match-high nine digs.
 
“Brad made some great defensive plays again tonight,” Reitz added.  “He's one of the top liberos in the country; not only tallying digs, but also in terms of serve reception.”
 
As a team Lourdes registered nine service aces while committing just eight errors.
 
“We serve really well tonight,” Reitz concluded.  “We haven't had many nights, if any, where we had more aces than errors, so that speaks volumes for our serve tonight.”
 
Sean Blackwood hit .267 and had six kills to pace Saint Xavier (5-17, 3-8 MAMVIC East) offensively while Justin Cousin tallied six digs.  As a team the Cougars hit just .091 for the match.
 
Lourdes (13-9, 6-4) will return to Springfield High School on Saturday afternoon to host fourth-ranked Clarke.  First serve is set for noon.