Lourdes saw its eight-match winning streak come to an end on Friday afternoon at the Viking Invitational with a four-set loss to fifth-ranked Park, but rebounded against host Missouri Valley in the second contest to pull out a five set win at the Burns Athletic Complex in Marshall, Mo.
 
The eighth-ranked Gray Wolves dropped the match to Park 25-17, 23-25, 25-15, 26-24 and defeated Missouri Valley 25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-10 in the team's first five set match of the season.
 
Against Park (8-6), Lourdes struggled early, hitting just .138 in the opening set before rebounding to swing at a .351 clip in the second and even the match.  The Gray Wolves hit just .037 in the third in falling behind again, before leveling out at a .273 hitting mark in a tight fourth set.
 
"We didn't start the match well against Park," head coach Greg Reitz stated.  "We weren't crisp and didn't hit well.  We served more aggressively in the second and distributed the ball better, but in the third we began missing serves.  We played pretty well in the fourth set, and were up late, but gave it away."
 
Ryan Maune (Washington, Mo./Saint Francis Borgia H.S.) led Lourdes with 14 kills in the opener, hitting .500, while Zachary Hawkins (Dickinson, Texas/Dickinson H.S.) added 11 kills and 14 digs.  Ryan Ferkel (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly H.S.) handed out 49 assists while CJ Rilveria (Kula, Hawaii/Kekaulike H.S.) registered 15 digs.
 
In the match against Missouri Valley (4-10), the two sides went back and forth, trading sets until the Gray Wolves hit .462 in the finale while holding the Vikings to a -.091 clip with just two kills to earn the victory.
 
"We ran a different lineup against Missouri Valley," Reitz added.  "We calmed down from earlier in the day and really battled.  At times the match seemed to get a little chipped but we kept fighting.  We played really well in the fifth and I'm glad we got the win."
 
Garrett Jones (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas H.S.) led the way with 15 kills for Lourdes while Brendan Brown (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny H.S.) and Julian Rivera (Bayamon, P.R./Wesleyan Academy) each added 11 kills.  Brown hit .476 with just one error in the match.
 
Rilveria posted a team-high 17 digs while Eric Ubior (Guaynabo, P.R./Wesleyan Academy) added 11 digs and Maune had 13 blocks defensively.
 
Stephen Bilkey led Missouri Valley with 15 kills while Luis Garate added a match-high 18 digs.
 
Lourdes (11-2) will conclude action at the Viking Invitational on Saturday.  The Gray Wolves will face Ottawa at 11 a.m. EST before battling Lindenwood-Belleville at 5 p.m. EST.