Lourdes assured itself of no worse than a share for the Mideast Conference title on Wednesday evening, as the eighth-ranked Gray Wolves defeated Cincinnati Christian 25-19, 25-16, 25-15 at Tam-o-Shanter.
 
The Gray Wolves hit .337 for the match and outdug the Eagles 32-23 for the night while registering six service aces.
 
"Our outsides really hit well tonight," head coach Greg Reitz said.  "We served and passed well, and when we do that we have a really good chance of winning the match.  Our defense was good with three players each having seven digs in a three-set match."
 
Garrett Jones (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas H.S.) and Brendan Brown (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny H.S.) each had nine hills, hitting .438 and .375 respectively, while Eric Ubior (Guaynabo, P.R./Wesleyan Academy) added eight kills while hitting .438.  Ryan Ferkel (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly H.S.) handed out 36 assists in the three sets.
 
Defensively, Ferkel, CJ Rilveria (Kula, Hawaii/Kekaulike H.S.), and Zachary Hawkins (Dickinson, Texas/Dickinson H.S.) each had seven digs while Ubior recorded three aces from the service line.
 
Lourdes never trailed in the opening set, but it was tight for a while.  Leading 17-15, the Gray Wolves closed with an 8-4 run while hitting .314 for the set.  The Eagles hung close, committing just four attack errors themselves while swinging at a .233 clip.
 
In the second stanza, the Gray Wolves held Cincinnati Christian to -.100 hitting and just four kills.  After scoring the first five points, the Gray Wolves found themselves behind following a 9-2 Eagle run.  Trailing 10-9, Lourdes scored seven straight points on Jones' serve to pull away and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Gray Wolves slowly extended its lead throughout the third set, hitting .458 in the process while committing just two errors. 
 
Logan Webber led Cincinnati Christian (9-9, 2-3 MEC) with 10 kills while Lance Wiles hit .429 with eight kills.  Phillip Andrews had a match-high eight digs.
 
Lourdes (16-3, 5-0) begins its final road trip of the 2016 regular season this weekend with four matches at the Stritch Wolves Invitational.  The Gray Wolves face Hannibal-LaGrange at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Friday before battling seventh-ranked Clarke at 6 p.m. EDT at the CSU Fieldhouse in Milwaukee, Wis.