Lourdes opened the 2017 season with a convincing 25-19, 25-13, 25-21 victory over Lawrence Tech on Wednesday evening inside of the Ridler Fieldhouse in Southfield, Mich.
 
The fourth-ranked Gray Wolves hit .321 for the match while holding the Blue Devils to a .103 clip and outdug Lawrence Tech 28-14 for the night.
 
"This wasn't the prettiest match we have played, but it was alright for the first match of the season," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "Most importantly it was a win.  We hit efficiently but we need to improve our serve and pass game."
 
The opening set was close early, with Lourdes maintaining just a one-point lead, 16-15, before a 4-1 run allowed the Gray Wolves some separation on the way to the win.  The Gray Wolves hit .409 in the second stanza while holding Lawrence Tech to just a .037 clip, and used a 6-0 run late, including a pair of aces from CJ Rilveria (Kula, Hawaii/Kekaulike H.S.) to cruise to a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Lawrence Tech led early in the third set, and after eight ties, Lourdes scored four straight points to take an 18-14 lead, an advantage the Gray Wolves would not relinquish the rest of the way.
 
Zachary Hawkins (Dickinson, Texas/Dickinson H.S.) led Lourdes with nine kills while Ryan Maune (Washington, Mo./Saint Francis Borgia H.S.) added eight kills without an error and hit .571.  Ryan Ferkel (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly HS.) handed out 22 assists while freshman Ian Fields (Phoenix, Ariz./Sandra Day O'Connor added 14 helpers in his collegiate debut.
 
Defensively, Rilveria had a match-high 16 digs while Maune registered three blocks.
 
Zach Whatcott led Lawrence Tech (0-2) with seven kills, hit .462, and had three blocks while Jacob Paige had a team-high five digs.
 
Lourdes (1-0) will remain on the road Friday evening, traveling to Davenport, Iowa to battle eighth-ranked Saint Ambrose.  First serve against the Fighting Bees is set for 8 p.m. EST inside of Lee Lohman Arena.