Ninth-ranked Lourdes hit .365 as a team on Wednesday evening and rolled to a 25-21, 25-18, 25-17 victory over Cincinnati Christian at Presidents Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio.
"We took care of business to pick up a conference win on the road," head coach
Greg Reitz said. "We served better than we did over the weekend and hit efficiently."
Eric Ubior (Guaynabo, P.R./Wesleyan Academy) led Lourdes with 12 kills and hit .364 while
Zachary Hawkins (Dickinson, Texas/Dickinson H.S.) added 10 kills and swung at a .421 clip.
Ryan Maune (Washington, Mo./Saint Francis Borgia H.S.) added seven kills on 10 swings while
Brendan Brown (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny H.S.) added six kills in his seven attempts.
Lourdes had to play from behind in the opening set, trailing 14-12 midway through. The set was tied at 21 when the Gray Wolves scored the final four points, two coming on kills from Hawkins, and two more from Ubior. The Gray Wolves hit .433 in the first set win.
The Gray Wolves never trailed in set two, but the set stayed tight most of the way. Leading 20-17, Lourdes scored five of the final six points to secure the win.
In the final stanza, Lourdes held the Eagles to just .130 hitting. An early 6-2 run allowed the Gray Wolves to open a 14-7 lead, and they never looked back to remain undefeated in Mideast Conference play.
Ryan Ferkel (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly H.S.) handed out 39 assists in the three-set win while
Garrett Jones (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas H.S.) led the defensive effort with eight digs.
Phillip Andrews led Cincinnati Christian (0-2, 0-1 Mideast) with 12 kills and hit .417 while Logan Webber added 11 kills.
Lourdes (5-1, 2-0) will have nine days off before returning to action on Friday, Feb. 5, traveling to Chicago, Ill. to face Saint Xavier. First serve is set for 8 p.m. EST at the Shannon Center.