Doane Photo Gallery
Northwestern Photo Gallery

Lourdes opened the season on Friday at the Red Raider Classic splitting a pair of matches in at the Bultman Center in Orange City, Iowa.  The 14^th-ranked Gray Wolves fell to Doane 25-17, 25-19, 25-15 before sweeping host 24^th-ranked Northwestern (Iowa) 25-22, 25-22, 25-16.
 
In the opener against Doane, Lourdes was unable to limit the Tigers offensive attack.  Doane hit .337 for the match, and held a 41-28 kill advantage for the afternoon, while committing just nine errors.
 
Doane jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the opening set and the Gray Wolves were never able to battle back.  Lourdes led 3-1 early in the second but a 9-2 run by the Tigers put Doane in front for good.  The Gray Wolves fell behind 5-1 in the third and again were unable to play from behind.
 
"We played a good team that put a lot of pressure on us this afternoon," head coach Greg Reitz stated.  "They took advantage of the opportunities we gave them.  We were unable to get in a rhythm in any aspect of the game and the result shows that."
 
Stephanie Ruffing (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty H.S.) led Lourdes with nine kills and hit .286 while Molly Shonk (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley H.S.) tallied eight kills, swinging at a .231 clip.  As a team Lourdes hit just .146.
 
Carolyn Manley (Holland, Ohio/Springfield H.S.) led the defensive with 11 digs while Angelica Dippold (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy), making her collegiate debut, added eight digs.
 
Kaitlin Bradley led Doane (4-1) with 13 kills and hit .444 while collecting 10 digs.  Erin Warren had 14 digs and four of the Tigers' 10 service aces.
 
The Gray Wolves turned in a much more impressive performance on both ends of the court against Northwestern.  Lourdes hit .278 with 51 kills in the three stanzas, led by Shonk's 15 kills and .323 hitting.  Ruffing added 13 kills while Meghan Birr (Muskegon, Mich./Mona Shores H.S.) handed out 39 assists.
 
"We came out strong and played volleyball tonight," Reitz said.  "We served aggressively and battled.  We were able to slow them down, playing good team defense which allowed our transition offense to flow.  Our serve receive was much better than the afternoon match."
 
Shonk finished with a double-double adding 10 digs to her kill total while Dippold and Kristin Murrell (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) each had eight digs.
 
In the opening set Lourdes fell behind early 4-1 before rallying to take its first lead at 8-7.  Five straight points off of the serve of Lexie Curtis (Toledo, Ohio/Bedford H.S.) put the Gray Wolves in front 13-9 and never trailed again in the set.
 
Northwestern again took an early lead in the second, holding an 11-7 advantage before Lourdes battled back.  A 13-4 run proved to be the difference, as the Gray Wolves built a 20-15 lead on the way to taking a 2-0 match edge.
 
A 7-0 run off of the serve of Dippold in the third put Lourdes on top 13-7 and Lourdes was on its way to the sweep.
 
Lauryn Hilger and Andrea Horstman led Northwestern (1-5) with eight kills each while Jessa Doom tallied 10 digs.
 
Lourdes (1-1) will conclude play at the Red Raider Classic on Saturday.  They Gray Wolves face 13^th-ranked Dordt at 12 p.m. EDT before battling Briar Cliff at 4 p.m. EDT.