Ninth-ranked Lourdes earned its fifth three-set sweep of the season on Friday evening as the Gray Wolves downed Saint Xavier 25-12, 26-24, 25-17 at the Shannon Center in Chicago, Ill.
 
Ryan Maune (Washington, Mo./Saint Francis H.S.) tallied 11 kills and hit .500 on the evening while Garrett Jones (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas H.S.) added 10 kills for the Gray Wolves in the victory.  Ryan Ferkel (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly H.S.) handed out 34 assists as the offense hit .261.
 
"We played well on the road and got the job done earning the win after a long day of travel," head coach Greg Reitz said following the win.
 
Lourdes hit an efficient .391 in the opening set, taking control midway through.  Leading 9-8, the Gray Wolves closed the set on a 16-4 run, taking advantage of numerous Cougar attack errors as the hosts hit -.069 in the set.
 
Set two was close throughout, with 15 ties and seven lead changes.  Lourdes trailed 19-17 but after scoring two straight points to tie the stanza, the two teams were never separated by more than one point the rest of the way until the final two kills by Ferkel and Jones. 
 
Leading 10-8 in the third, Lourdes went on an 8-1 run to provide separation and secure the sweep.  The Gray Wolves held Saint Xavier to just .107 hitting in the set while connecting at a .250 clip.
 
CJ Rilveria (Kula, Hawaii/Kekaulike H.S.) led the Lourdes defense with 11 digs while Maune was involved in five blocks and Zachary Hawkins (Dickinson, Texas/Dickinson H.S.) contributed on four.  The Gray Wolves were hampered by service errors in the match though, committing eight while registering just one ace.
 
"We did a nice job of blocking and attacked fairly well," Reitz added.  "We need to serve better though."
 
Sean Berry led Saint Xavier (0-6) with 11 kills while Moises Lopez added seven digs.  Bradley Gadek had a team-high seven blocks in the match for the Cougars.
 
Lourdes (6-1) will conclude its three-match road trip on Saturday afternoon in search of its fifth straight victory.  The Gray Wolves will face Calumet College of Saint Joseph beginning at 1 p.m. EST at the Rittenmeyer Center in Whiting, Ind.