Lourdes extended its season on Wednesday afternoon, sweeping Park 25-23, 25-23, 25-19 in the opening round of the NAIA National Invitational held at the Petty Sports and Recreation Complex in Saint Louis, Mo.
 
The seventh-ranked Gray Wolves now advance to pool play on Thursday and Friday having won 12 straight matches and 36 consecutive sets.
 
"This is a huge win for our program," head coach Greg Reitz said after the match.  "This gives us a great deal of confidence moving forward."
 
Ryan Maune (Washington, Mo./Saint Francis Borgia H.S.) tallied 18 kills and hit .593 while Brendan Brown (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny H.S.) added eight kills as part of a .538 hitting percentage for the Gray Wolves.  Ryan Ferkel (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly H.S.) handed out 41 assists while leading Lourdes to a .217 hitting percentage as a team.
 
Park (21-11) led 21-17 in the opening set before five straight points flipped the stanza, allowing the Gray Wolves to rally for the win, capped by a kill from Maune.
 
The sixth-ranked Pirates led 19-18 in set two before the Gray Wolves scored four of the next five points to build a 2-0 lead in the match.  Maune again closed the victory with a kill, leaving Lourdes just one set from advancing.
 
Lourdes built an 11-7 lead early in the third set, only to see Park tie the stanza at 17, 18, and 19.  The Gray Wolves never fell behind though, scoring four straight points to build a 23-19 advantage, and Maune capped the match putting down an overkill for the victory.
 
Defensively, CJ Rilveria (Kula, Hawaii/Kekaulike H.S.) tallied a match-high 16 digs for the Gray Wolves as Lourdes outdug Park 47-41 for the match.
 
Daniel Arteaga led the Pirates with 20 kills and 13 digs while hitting .436.  Park hit .129 as a team.
 
With the victory, Lourdes will now face top-ranked, and tournament host Missouri Baptist on Thursday at 2 p.m. EDT before battling third-ranked Grand View on Friday at 2 p.m. EDT in pool play.  The top two teams in each of the two three-team pools will advance to Friday evening's semifinals.