Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: After rolling through the regular season and WHAC tournament undefeated, Lourdes begins its quest for a national title on Saturday evening as the Gray Wolves host Trinity Christian at Savage Arena in the Opening Round of the NAIA National Volleyball Championship.

On the Air: Saturday's match against Trinity Christian will be broadcast tape-delayed on BCSN on Buckeye Cablesystem.  The game will air on BCSN at 6:30 a.m. as well as 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.  In addition, BCSN2 will show the match on Sunday morning at 3 a.m. as well as Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his sixth season on the Lourdes bench, Greg Reitz has a 116-85 (.577) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  In his sixth season overall as a women's head coach, Reitz has an 136-120 (.531) career mark.  He is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Trinity Christian has won the only previous meeting between the two schools on Sept. 3, 2011.  The Trolls registered a 25-15, 25-16, 25-23 victory over the Gray Wolves as part of the Saint Xavier/Trinity Christian crossover held in Palos Heights, Ill.  This will be Trinity Christian's first visit to Northwest Ohio.

Wrapping Up the WHAC Tournament: Lourdes registered three sweeps on the way to the WHAC tournament championship.  The Gray Wolves opened with a 25-7, 25-19, 26-24 win over Northwestern Ohio on Friday in the quarterfinals.  Molly Shonk tallied a team-high 12 kills and hit .370.  On Saturday morning in the semifinals, Lourdes cruised by Indiana Tech 25-10, 25-14, 25-14.  Shonk tallied 13 kills and 18 digs while Stephanie Ruffing hit .417 with 12 kills.  In Saturday evening's title match against #23 Madonna, Ruffing registered 10 kills and Michi Jimenez added 22 digs as the Gray Wolves downed the Crusaders 25-23, 25-22, 25-15.

Scouting Trinity Christian: The Trolls enter the NAIA National Championship having won five straight matches and 11 of their last 12 overall.  Trinity Christian defeated Saint Francis (Ill.) in straight sets at home in the championship of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference to earn the league's automatic bid.  Kacie Stoll leads the Trolls with 403 kills and is hitting .275 on the season.  Tori Mantel has handed out 1,288 assists while also leading the team with 42 service aces.  Michelle Busscher has tallied 633 digs defensively while Christa Veenstra has registered 102 blocks.  Trinity Christian is making its third appearance ever in the tournament, and first since 2013.  The Trolls are 1-4 all-time in the NAIA National Championship.

Lourdes at the NAIA National Championship: Lourdes is making its second appearance all-time in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship in just the program's sixth season overall.  In the only previous appearance for the Gray Wolves, Lourdes suffered a four-set loss at Georgetown (Ky.) in 2013.

Lots of WHAC Honors: Lourdes swept all five of the major postseason awards handed out by the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.  Stephanie Ruffing was named the WHAC Player of the Year while Molly Shonk earned Newcomer of the Year honors.  Michi Jimenez was the league's Libero of the Year while Meghan Birr collected Setter of the Year accolades.  Ruffing, Shonk, Jimenez, and Birr were also First Team All-WHAC selections along with Ave Stout.  In addition, Stef Comte and Stephanie Richards were named Honorable Mention All-WHAC.  Head coach Greg Reitz captured Coach of the Year honors from the league.

Only Unbeaten in the Nation: Lourdes enters the tournament not only as the lone undefeated in NAIA women's volleyball, but among all four-year schools when you include NCAA Divisions I, II, and III.  The Gray Wolves' 31-0 record has set a new school record for victories (previous record 21 in 2010 and 2013) as well as for longest winning streak (previous record was six Nov. 2-16, 2013).

More Perfection (or Near Perfect): Lourdes has won the second set in all 31 contests this season.  Overall, the Gray Wolves have lost just 11 total sets on the year, sweeping 23 of the 31 contests.

Record Setting Season: Stephanie Ruffing has tallied 400 kills this season, surpassing Katie McKenty's 376 in 2012 to set a new school single season mark.  Ave Stout is on pace to set a new mark with her .377 hitting percentage.  She is currently 17 points ahead of Mallory Lenhart's 2014 mark of .360.  Meghan Birr's 1,211 assists is 381 more than Allegra Recknagel's previous record of 830 set in 2013.  As a team, Lourdes has set school marks in kills (1,525), attack percentage (.294), and assists (1,413).

Career Marks: Stephanie Richards holds the school's career kills record with 946 as well as the attack record (2,694).  Lexie Curtis has tallied a school record 114 service aces during her career while Michi Jimenez has registered 2,072 digs, most in school history.  Jimenez has also played in more sets (455) and matches (128) than any other player.  Stef Comte has 238 blocks, 100 more than any other Gray Wolf.  

Among the Top Offenses: Lourdes leads all of NAIA with 14.66 kills per set and 13.59 assists per set while ranking fourth as a team with a .294 hitting percentage.

This and That: Lourdes has defeated Cardinal Stritch, Saint Xavier, and Robert Morris (Ill.) from the CCAC this season along with future CCAC member Governors State ... Meghan Birr ranks third individually in the NAIA in assists per set (11.64) while Ave Stout is eight in the country in hitting percentage (.377) ... 22 of the 31 matches have lasted less than 1:15, with six taking under an hour.