Box Score
Lourdes University's run at the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Invitational presented by Tachikara came to an end on Friday afternoon as the Gray Wolves dropped their second pool play match 22-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-20 to fourth-ranked Clarke at Wildcat Gymnasium on the campus of Johnson & Wales University in Denver, Colo.
 
"I think this match was similar to how the entire season went," head coach Greg Reitz stated.  "We showed we had the talent to perform at this level.  However, sometimes we rose to the challenge and sometimes we didn't."
 
The Gray Wolves came out strong, taking the opening set.  An early 7-2 run by the Crusaders put Clarke on top 13-10 but Lourdes responded.  In a set that saw nine ties and seven lead changes, the Gray Wolves took the lead on a service error by Jo'Lon Clark (Compton, Calif./Long Beach Poly H.S.) 21-20. Clarke responded scoring the next three points, but a Keanu Jacinto (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon H.S.) kill retied the set at 22.  Back-to-back attack errors by Clarke followed by a kill from Frank Craig (Jacksonville, Fla./Englewood H.S.) capped the set for Lourdes.
 
Five straight points early in set two gave the Crusaders the advantage, and they gradually increased the lead to seven, 18-11.  Lourdes tried to climb back, cutting the deficit to four at 18-14, but one last mini run by Clarke allowed the Crusaders to even the match.
 
The third set was all Clarke.  Leading just 8-7, the Crusaders went on a 16-4 run to earn the victory.  Clarke hit .407 in the stanza, committing just one attack error, while the Gray Wolves were held to a -.062 clip.  After committing eight service errors in the second set, Lourdes committed three more in the third.
 
"It's really tough to win at this level when you're not getting your serves in," Reitz added.
 
Lourdes tried to battle back in the fourth set after falling behind 10-5 early.  A 5-0 run, capped with a kill from Chris Lockwood (San Diego, Calif./Poway H.S.), the lone senior on the roster, tied the set at 15.  Clarke scored four of the next five points though, and never allowed the Gray Wolves to catch up the rest of the way.
 
Clark led the Gray Wolves with 14 kills while Craig added 10 more.  Lockwood hit .500 with seven kills and did not commit an error offensively.  Steve Barcus (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon H.S.) handed out a team-high 19 assists and added 11 digs while Keanu Jacinto (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon H.S.) tallied 15 digs. 
 
Lourdes hit .152 on the afternoon and suffered 14 service errors.  Clarke swung at a .269 clip and outdug Lourdes 63-53 in addition to outblocking the Gray Wolves 14-10.
 
Bobby Gallagher and Nick Tate led Clarke with 15 kills while Anson Lindsey added 10 kills and nine blocks for the Crusaders.
 
Lourdes (17-7) season comes to a close with a school record 17 victories while Clarke advances to the semifinals where the Crusaders will meet Park.