Lourdes captured the Mideast Conference title, and with it a berth to the NAIA National Invitational on Saturday morning as the Gray Wolves swept Siena Heights 25-19, 25-15, 25-20 at Springfield High School.
 
The Gray Wolves improve to 24-3 with the victory, and have won a school record 11 consecutive matches, all via 3-0 sweeps.
 
"This was a huge performance in a pressure situation," head coach Greg Reitz stated.  "Did didn't too well in this situation last year, so it was nice to redeem ourselves.  We have significantly improved in several areas throughout the season."
 
Facing the Saints for the fourth time this season, Lourdes improved to 16-0 all-time against Siena Heights.
 
Zachary Hawkins (Dickinson, Texas/Dickinson H.S.), the tournament Most Valuable Player, tallied 16 kills, hit .483, and added seven digs defensively to pace the Gray Wolves.  Garrett Jones (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas H.S.), who also was named to the All-Tournament Team, tallied seven kills and had five blocks, while Ryan Maune (Washington, Mo./Saint Francis H.S.) registered seven kills and six blocks.
 
Lourdes built an early 15-9 lead in the opening set before the Saints rallied to close within one, 16-15.  The Gray Wolves staved off the rally, and scored five of the final six points to take the early lead in the match.
 
In the second set, the two sides were tied at 12 before the Gray Wolves closed on a 13-3 run, scoring the last six points off of the serve of Hawkins.  The Gray Wolves never trailed in the final set, scoring the first five points, and never allowed the Saints to pull closer than four the rest of the way, capturing its second conference tournament title in three years.
 
Ryan Ferkel (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly H.S.) handed out 32 assists and tallied six digs while CJ Rilveria (Kula, Hawaii/Kekaulike H.S.) led the Lourdes defense with 14 digs.  The Gray Wolves held Siena Heights to just .054 on the day.
 
Tyler Hubbard-Neil, who was joined by teammate Matthew Dugan on the All-Tournament Team, led Siena Heights (18-8) with 14 kills while Dugan collected 12 digs.
 
Lourdes will make its second appearance at the NAIA Invitational.  The event, hosted by Missouri Baptist, will take place in Saint Louis, Mo. April 20-23.