Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: After splitting four matches on the opening weekend of the season, Lourdes heads to Columbia (Mo.) for its final four non-conference tilts prior to WHAC play opening on Wednesday.  The Gray Wolves are in for a challenge, playing three of their four contests against teams ranked in the top-12 in NAIA.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his seventh season on the Lourdes bench, Greg Reitz has a 120-89 (.574) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  In his eighth season overall as a women's head coach, Reitz has a 140-124 (.530) career mark.  He is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history and was named WHAC Coach of the Year in 2015.

Series Notes: Lourdes has never faced Olivet Nazarene, Missouri Baptist, or Park in women's volleyball prior to this season.  The Gray Wolves are 0-1 all-time against Columbia (Mo.), falling to the Cougars in straight sets on Dec. 2, 2015 in the NAIA National Championship held in Sioux City, Iowa.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes opened the season at the Red Raider Classic.  On Friday, the Gray Wolves dropped a straight sets match to Doane before bouncing back to sweep #24 Northwestern (Iowa), the tournament host.  Stephanie Ruffing had a team-high nine kills versus Doane while Molly Shonk had 15 kills against the Red Raiders.  On Saturday, Lourdes fell in four sets to #13 Dordt despite 12 kills from Kristin Murrell before rebounding for a three set win over Briar Cliff.  Ruffing and Genessee Tate had 13 kills each in the win.

Scouting Olivet Nazarene: The Tigers have won four straight matches to open the season after defeating Lewis-Clark State twice last Saturday.  Emma Ross leads the team with 48 kills while Ellie Adamson has handed out 108 assists.  Alex Ewalt has a team-leading 65 digs while Rachel Kirby has registered nine blocks.

Scouting Columbia (Mo.): The defending national champion Cougars dropped all three matches last week at the Hastings Tournament, including five-setters to Biola and Hastings.  Peiyi Liu leads the team with 42 kills and 11 blocks while Sashiko Heredia has handed out 118 assists.  Gabriela Walton has tallied a team-high 45 digs.

Scouting Missouri Baptist: The Spartans have won two of their last three contests after a three-set victory over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on Wednesday.  Kristina Medanovic leads the team with 79 kills and is hitting .388 while adding 19 digs defensively.  Megan Huffman has dished out 269 assists already this year while Natalie Gremaud has tallied 148 digs.

Scouting Park: The Pirates have opened the season 4-0 after a four-set win over Central Methodist and a five-set triumph over Missouri Valley last weekend at the Missouri Valley Invitational.  Wendy Romero leads Park with 71 kills and is hitting .333 while Danna Gomes has handed out 173 assists.  Daniela Duarte has recorded a team-high 62 digs while Aneisha Ford leads the Pirates with nine blocks.

Birr Sets Career Assist Record: Meghan Birr broke the school's career assist record last weekend in the match against Dordt.  The senior now has 1,495 career assists, passing Hannah Thompson's (2010-2011) previous record of 1,451 helpers.  

Quite a Schedule: With three top-12 opponents this weekend, Lourdes will start the season out playing five top-25 foes in its first eight matches.  The Gray Wolves are currently 1-1 against ranked teams this year after going 4-2 in 2015.  All-time, Lourdes is 8-19 against top-25 opponents.  When facing #1 Columbia (Mo.) and #2 Missouri Baptist this weekend, it will mark the highest ranked teams the Gray Wolves have ever played.  The previous high is #4, at Madonna in 2013 and versus Columbia (Mo.) in last year's NAIA National Championship.

A Debut at Libero: Freshman Angelica Dippold stepped into the libero role in her collegiate debut last week against Doane.  For the weekend she recorded 38 digs, tied for the team lead, averaging 3.17 per set.  She recorded 13 in the four-set contest against #13 Dordt.

Murrell a Solid Start: Kristin Murrell also had a solid opening weekend, her first as a Gray Wolf.  The sophomore transfer recorded 28 kills (2.33/set) and 27 digs while playing in 12 of the 13 sets.

Tate Makes an Impact: Genessee Tate appeared in just seven sets during her first weekend at Lourdes, but finished with 26 kills.  Her 3.71 kills per set led the team in average.  She hit .262 while also being involved in four blocks.

More Records: Lexie Curtis is the school's career service ace record holder with 126, 45 more than Hannah Thompson's second place mark after registering five last weekend.  Stef Comte has recorded 255 blocks in her career, and holds the school mark by 117 over Andrea Brown (2012-2013) after tallying eight in the first four contests.

This and That: Stephanie Richards is 21 kills shy of 1,000 for her career ... a total of 11 different players saw action during the opening weekend ... Lourdes has only faced one American Midwest Conference team (Columbia) prior to this weekend ... the Gray Wolves are 12-9 all-time against teams from the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.