Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: After registering its first NAIA Championship match victory in program history, Lourdes heads to Sioux City, Iowa to join 23 other schools in a quest for a national title.  The 17th-ranked Gray Wolves begin with three days of pool play against #9 Hastings, #4 Columbia (Mo.), and #24 Mount Vernon Nazarene.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his sixth season on the Lourdes bench, Greg Reitz has a 117-85 (.579) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  In his sixth season overall as a women's head coach, Reitz has an 137-120 (.533) career mark.  The 2015 WHAC Coach of the Year is the only head coach in Lourdes history.

Series Notes: Lourdes has never faced Hastings or Columbia (Mo.) in women's volleyball.  The Gray Wolves are 0-2 all-time against Mount Vernon Nazarene with both matches being played at neutral sites.  The Cougars swept Lourdes on Oct. 23, 2010 in Lima, Ohio while also registering a 3-1 win over the Gray Wolves on Aug. 18, 2012 at the Concordia Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Wrapping Up the Opening Round: Lourdes hit .306 as a team while tallying 51 kills in a 25-17, 25-23, 25-18 victory over Trinity Christian on Nov. 21 at Savage Arena.  Stephanie Ruffing recorded 13 kills and 15 digs while Molly Shonk had 13 kills for the Gray Wolves in the win.  Meghan Birr handed out 41 assists while defensively Michi Jimenez tallied a match-high 16 digs.

Scouting Hastings: The Broncos received an opening round bye after finishing third in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.  Hastings fell in four sets to Midland on Nov. 11 in the GPAC semifinals in their last outing.  Logan Drueppel and Katie Placke each earned First Team All-GPAC honors for the Broncos.  Drueppel had 259 kills, 196 blocks, and hit .294 on the season while Placke handed out 956 assists, had 293 digs, and 97 blocks.

Scouting Columbia (Mo.): The Cougars received an opening round bye after finishing second in the American Midwest Conference.  Columbia defeated Missouri Baptist in five sets on Nov. 14 to win the AMC tournament title.  Penny Liu was named the AMC Player and Newcomer of the Year after hitting .423 with 500 kills and 279 digs for Hastings.  Sashiko Heredia and Eirini Chatziefstratiadou both were First Team All-AMC selections as well.  Heredia handed out 1,270 assists and had 230 digs while Chatziefstratiadou tallied 284 kills, hit .394, and recorded 82 blocks.

Scouting Mount Vernon Nazarene: The Cougars earned a 3-0 victory over Ashford in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round after winning the Crossroads League regular season and tournament titles.  Annelise Rohrer was named the CL Player of the Year after tallying 465 kills, hit .302, and recorded 426 digs.  Marlowe Beatty, the CL Libero of the Year, tallied 770 digs for the Cougars while Kristen Osborn was a First Team All-CL selection after posting 348 kills and 201 digs.

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' 32-0 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): The Gray Wolves won all 21 sets during the month of November and enter December having won 27 consecutive sets. Overall, the Gray Wolves have lost just 11 total sets on the year, sweeping 24 of the 32 contests.  Lourdes has won the second set in all 32contests this season.  

Record Setting Season: Stephanie Ruffing has tallied 413 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 .373 hitting percentage.  She is currently 13 points ahead of Mallory Lenhart's 2014 mark of .360.  Meghan Birr's 1,252 assists is 422 more than Allegra Recknagel's previous record of 830 set in 2013.  As a team, Lourdes has set school marks in kills (1,576), attack percentage (.294), and assists (1,460).

Career Marks: Stephanie Richards holds the school's career kills record with 954 as well as the attack record (2,716).  Lexie Curtis has tallied a school record 116 service aces during her career while Michi Jimenez has registered 2,088 digs, most in school history.  Jimenez has also played in more sets (458) and matches (129) than any other player.  Stef Comte has 239 blocks, 101 more than any other Gray Wolf.  

Among the Nation's Top Offenses: Lourdes leads all of NAIA with 14.64 kills per set and 13.64 assists per set while ranking fourth as a team with a .294 hitting percentage.  The Gray Wolves are also 12th with 2.07 aces per set.

Facing Ranked Opponents: Lourdes is 6-16 all-time against teams ranked in the NAIA Top-25.  The Gray Wolves are 3-0 this season, having defeated Madonna all three times.  The highest ranked team Lourdes has ever downed was #9 Madonna on Oct. 4, 2014.  Madonna was also the highest ranked team the Gray Wolves have ever played at #4 on Nov. 16, 2013, the same ranking as Columbia (Mo.) is currently.

This and That: Lourdes is in just its sixth year of athletics and sponsoring women's volleyball ... Meghan Birr ranks third individually in the NAIA in assists per set (11.70) while Ave Stout is 12th in the country in hitting percentage (.374) ... 23 of the 32 matches have lasted less than 1:15, with six taking under an hour ... Molly Shonk has recorded 15 double-doubles and Stephanie Ruffing has 10 this season ... the Gray Wolves have tallied 222 service aces while surrendering just 66.