Fourteenth-ranked Lourdes scored a pair of victories at the Hampton Inn Classic on Friday, including an upset of top-ranked, and tournament host, Columbia (Mo.) at the Southwell Complex in Columbia, Mo.  The Gray Wolves opened the day with a 25-14, 17-25, 25-11, 25-15 win over Olivet Nazarene before sweeping the defending national champion Cougars 33-31, 25-23, 25-19.
 
"It was a great team effort to get the win," head coach Greg Reitz said of the victory over Columbia.  "We had to battle in the first two sets and we did just that.  The third we were clicking much better and we were able to roll a bit."
 
Defense helped lead the victory as the Gray Wolves outblocked the Cougars 9-5 on the night, and held Columbia to just .121 hitting for the match.
 
Molly Shonk (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley H.S.) led the way offensively with 14 kills and hit .367 while Stef Comte (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) hit .333 with three blocks.  Shonk also had a team-high 11 digs to complete her double-double.
 
"Molly and Stef played very well and our defense was pretty solid all around," Reitz added.
 
Stephanie Ruffing (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty H.S.) tallied nine digs and three blocks defensively while Angelica Dippold (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy) tallied eight digs.
 
Lourdes had to fight off three set points in the opening stanza before rallying for the victory.  The Gray Wolves trailed 23-20 in set two before scoring the final five points off of the service of Shonk.  In the finale, Lourdes built a 17-12 lead and hung on to complete the sweep.
 
Peiyi Liu led Columbia (1-4) with 12 kills and 11 digs.
 
In the afternoon match against Olivet Nazarene, Lourdes hit .331 as a team while limiting the Tigers to a .127 clip.  Ruffing hit .500 with 20 kills and had 15 digs while Ave Stout (Huntertown, Ind./Bishop Luers H.S.) added 12 kills while swinging at a .435 clip.  Shonk and Genessee Tate (West Covina, Calif./West Covina H.S.) each tallied 10 kills with Tate hitting .455.  Meghan Birr (Muskegon, Mich./Mona Shores H.S.) handed out 50 assists.
 
Dippold recorded 13 digs and Carolyn Manley (Holland, Ohio/Springfield H.S.) added 11 digs defensively while Ruffing had four blocks.
 
"We played a solid match against Olivet Nazarene," Reitz added.  "Our serve and pass was strong and we hit really efficiently in three of the four sets."
 
Lourdes hit .378 or higher in each of the three sets in which they won, but swung at just a .147 clip in the second stanza, where Olivet Nazarene (4-1) hit .400 with just one error after committing 10 in the opening set.
 
Lizzie Jackson led Olivet Nazarene with eight kills while Alex Ewalt had 24 digs.
 
Lourdes (4-2) will close out action in the event on Saturday with two more matches.  The Gray Wolves face second-ranked Missouri Baptist beginning at 10 a.m. EDT before battling 12^th-ranked Park in a 2 p.m. EDT contest.