Lourdes men's volleyball team opened play at the Spartan Invitational on Friday night, sweeping sixth-ranked Saint Ambrose and fifth-ranked Grand View at the Petty Sports and Recreation Complex in Saint Louis, Mo.
 
The Gray Wolves defeated Saint Ambrose in their first match 25-21, 25-17, 25-23 before topping Grand View 25-23, 28-26, 25-22, avenging earlier season losses to both schools.
 
"These were two huge wins for us," head coach Greg Reitz said at the nights conclusion.  "We had never defeated Saint Ambrose before (0-8 entering the match), and we played poorly against both schools a few weeks ago.  We learned how to compete against quality opponents and played solid volleyball all around."
 
In the opening match against the Saint Ambrose (20-7), Frank Craig (Jacksonville, Fla./Englewood H.S.) tallied 15 kills while hitting .379 and Jo'Lon Clark (Compton, Calif./Long Beach Poly H.S.) added 11 kills while hitting .500 to pace the offense.  Amaury Miranda (Naranjito, P.R./Luis Munoz Marin H.S.) handed out 32 assists in the win.
 
Defensively, Clark and Brad Miller (Convoy, Ohio/Crestview H.S.) each registered nine digs while CJ Rilveria (Kula, Hawaii/Kekaulike H.S.) tallied eight more.  Sean Labriola (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot H.S.) was involved in six of the team's 11 blocks on the night.
 
Against Grand View (10-7), Clark posted 18 kills and hit .316 while Craig added 11 kills as part of a .320 hitting night.  Miranda handed out 33 assists in the three sets.
 
Defensively, Miller recorded 13 digs while Labriola registered seven blocks.
 
Lourdes (18-6) has now won three straight matches and seven of its last eight overall.  The Gray Wolves return to action at the Spartan Invitational on Saturday to close out the regular season.  Lourdes will face fourth-ranked, and event host Missouri Baptist at 10 a.m. EDT before ending the year with a match against top-ranked Park at 1 p.m. EDT.