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Lourdes picked up its first victory in the NAIA National Championship on Wednesday evening, coming from behind to defeat Morningside 25-17, 19-25, 13-25, 25-23, 15-9 in pool play at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
 
"This was a great team win," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "All 16 players in uniform were good tonight."
 
The 10^th-ranked Gray Wolves started strong, tallying 17 kills while making just two errors, something that hampered Lourdes in the opening match on Tuesday, to hit .417 on the way to a first set victory.  Things turned in the second though, as 11 offensive errors allowed Morningside to even the match.
 
"We played pretty well in the first set to earn the win," Reitz said.  "The second set we looked like we were on a different court, and didn't make smart choices."
 
Morningside (20-14) hit .500 as a team in the third, rolling to the win, and pushing the Gray Wolves near defeat.  The Mustangs jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth, before five straight points allowed Lourdes to jump in front.  The Gray Wolves would build its lead to as many as five, and held off a late rally by the hosts to even the match at two sets a piece.
 
"We made some changes during the fourth set which allowed us to score points and slow down their offense," Reitz added. 
 
Playing just their second five-set match of the year, and this one in front of a loud Morningside crowd as the Mustangs serve as the tournament host, Lourdes took the lead 8-7 as the teams switched sides.  A kill by Ave Stout (Huntertown, Ind./Bishop Luers H.S.) and a Mustang error pushed the lead to 10-7.  After Morningside pulled within two, 11-9, the Gray Wolves finished off the match with four straight points, the final on a kill by Erin O'Neil (Midland, Mich./Dow H.S.), who came off the bench to provide five kills over the final two stanzas.
 
"Erin gave us a huge lift off of the bench," Reitz said of her effort.  "She came in, got some kills, and made good swings."
 
Molly Shonk (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley H.S.) delivered her 11^th straight double-double with 17 kills and 15 digs while Stephanie Ruffing (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty H.S.) added 13 kills and 10 digs.  Stef Comte (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame H.S.) added 12 kills and hit .476 while Stout tallied 11 kills.
 
Defensively, Angelica Dippold led all players with 25 digs for the Gray Wolves while Meghan Birr (Muskegon, Mich./Mona Shores HS.) added 12 more.  Birr also had 38 assists for a double-double.
 
Ashley Vande Stouwe led Morningside (20-14) with 15 kills and hit .464 for the contest while Jenn Buyert and Jayde Bergmann added 14 kills each.  Callie Alberico tallied 21 digs to go along with 56 assists.
 
Lourdes (27-6) will close out pool play on Thursday evening facing seventh-ranked Park, with the winner advancing to bracket play beginning on Friday.  First serve is set for approximately 8 p.m. EST at the Tyson Events Center.
 
"We had a lot of emotion on the court tonight which we haven't seen all year," Reitz concluded.  "We need to bring that back out on the court tomorrow."