Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: The 2016 regular season comes to a close this week with Lourdes in quest of a Mideast Conference title.  The Gray Wolves enter the week having won seven straight contests and close out league play on Wednesday at Siena Heights.  Lourdes wraps up the regular season on Friday hosting Calumet for Senior Night.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his fifth season both on the Lourdes bench, and overall coaching men's volleyball, Greg Reitz has a 88-40 (.688) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  He was named to the MAMVIC East Coach of the Year in 2012 and the Great Lakes Conference Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2015.  Reitz is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Lourdes is 14-0 all-time against Siena Heights in a series that dates back to Feb. 14, 2012.  The Gray Wolves won the two previous meetings this season, both at Tam-o-Shanter, in four sets.  The Gray Wolves hold a 6-0 advantage in matches played in Adrian, Mich.  Lourdes is 3-0 all-time against Calumet in a series that dates back to Feb. 3, 2015.  The Gray Wolves have swept all three contests, including a match in Whiting, Ind. back on Feb. 6 of this year.  Calumet has played at Lourdes once prior to this week.  

Earlier This Season: Lourdes posted a 25-16, 15-25, 25-18, 26-24 victory at home over Siena Heights on Jan. 23 in the final match of the Lourdes Invitational.  Zachary Hawkins and Eric Ubior both had 13 kills and 11 digs to lead the Gray Wolves while Tyler Hubbard-Neil recorded 16 kills and 10 digs for Siena Heights.  On Feb. 17 in Mideast Conference action, Lourdes scored a 25-16, 22-25, 25-12, 25-10 win over the Saints at Tam-o-Shanter.  Garrett Jones had a team-high 16 kills for Lourdes while Hubbard-Neil recorded 13 kills for the Saints.  On Feb. 6 Lourdes recorded a 25-13, 25-4, 25-14 win at Calumet in Whiting, Ind.  Hawkins had 15 kills for the Gray Wolves while Trevor Wagner had a team-high seven kills for Calumet.

Wrapping Up Last Week (or Two Weeks Ago): Lourdes swept Cincinnati Christian 25-19, 25-16, 25-15 on March 16 in MEC play.  Garrett Jones and Brendan Brown both had nine kills to lead the Gray Wolves.  On March 18 Lourdes posted a 25-14, 25-11, 25-22 win over Hannibal-LaGrange and a 28-26, 25-12, 28-26 victory over seventh-ranked Clarke.  Ryan Maune had 11 kills in the win over Hannibal-LaGrange and 13 more versus Clarke.  The Gray Wolves added a 25-15, 34-32, 27-25 win over Morningside and a 25-19, 25-23, 25-20 win over Cardinal Stritch on March 19.  Garrett Jones had 14 kills in the first match while Zachary Hawkins had a team-high 13 against Cardinal Stritch.

Scouting Siena Heights: The Saints have won nine straight matches, all via 3-0 sweeps, dating back to Feb. 27, and is coming off of a win at Lawrence Tech last Wednesday.  Matthew Dugan leads Siena Heights with 198 kills while Jeff Hardman has handed out 517 assists.  John Kalugar leads the Saints with 33 service aces and 217 digs while Zach Haube paces Siena Heights with 74 blocks.

Scouting Calumet: The Crimson Wave enter the week having dropped two straight matches and are coming off of a four-set loss to Robert Morris (Ill.) last Tuesday.  Calumet hosts Cardinal Stritch on Tuesday and visits Saint Xavier on Thursday before traveling to Lourdes.  Trevor Wagner leads Calumet with 187 kills and 41 blocks while Hunter Monday has handed out a team-high 298 assists.  Jake Olson leads the way with 18 service aces while Liam Fagan has tallied 200 digs.

Thanks Seniors: Lourdes will honor its three seniors prior to Friday's match.  Bryan Downs, Garrett Jones, and Julian Rivera have all been with the program for four seasons, helping the Gray Wolves to a Great Lakes Conference regular season and tournament title as well as a berth in the NAIA National Championship in 2014.

Ferkel and Rilveria Capture NAIA Awards: Ryan Ferkel and CJ Rilveria were named the NAIA Setter and Libero of the Week respectively for the second time each this season.  Ferkel averaged 12.53 assists and 2.87 digs per set in the five wins March 16-19 while Rilveria tallied 3.27 digs and 0.87 assists per set during the same span.

Looking for School Records and a Conference Title: Lourdes enters its match on Wednesday having won seven consecutive contests.  The Gray Wolves are one victory shy of matching the school record for eight straight wins, set Feb. 3 through March 6, 2015 and matched earlier this season Jan. 23 through Feb. 19.  In addition, the win would give Lourdes a school record 21 victories this season, and would also clinch the Mideast Conference title, giving the Gray Wolves back-to-back regular season league championships.

The Nation's Best: As a team, Lourdes leads the nation statistically in digs per set, as the Gray Wolves have tallied 12.92 per stanza thus far this year.  The Gray Wolves also lead the in NAIA averaging 13.51 kills per set and 12.69 assists per set.

Among the NAIA Individual Leaders: CJ Rilveria ranks leads all of NAIA men's volleyball tallying 3.70 digs per set this season while Ryan Maune is fourth nationally averaging 1.18 blocks per set.  Maune is also fourth in the country hitting .446 while Ryan Ferkel is fifth nationally handing out 10.49 assists per set.  Brendan Brown is fifth in the country hitting .407 himself.
 
This and That: Lourdes moved up to 7th in the NAIA top-10 national poll last week, matching its highest ranking of the season ... Ryan Ferkel needs three assists for 800 this season and 10 helpers for 1,200 in his career ... Garrett Jones needs nine kills for 600 in his career and eight digs for 300 over his four years ... CJ Rilveria is 22 digs shy of 600 for his career.