Lourdes University Athletics

Lourdes started off strong in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference championship match on Saturday afternoon, but in the end 18^th-ranked Cornerstone proved to be too much for the Gray Wolves, as the Golden Eagles scored a four-set victory, 16-25, 25-15, 25-11, 25-11 inside The Activities Center in Livonia, Mich.
 
"We started off the match well, but could not maintain that level," head coach Greg Reitz said following the match.  "We were coming off of such an emotional win last night (a five-setter against Madonna) that we rode that momentum for a little while, but ran out of steam against a good team.  They played well and we could not get back the rhythm we had early in the match."
 
In the opening set Lourdes tallied 12 kills and hit .290 with just three errors, but managed just 21 kills while registering 37 miscues over the final three sets.  Meanwhile, Cornerstone started with eight attack errors, and had just 11 more the rest of the way.  The Golden Eagles finished the match with 17 blocks.
 
An early 3-0 run by the Gray Wolves put Lourdes in front 3-1 early in the opening set and they would never trail the rest of the way.  With the Golden Eagles within two, 12-10, Lourdes went on an 8-3 spurt, taking advantage of three errors by Cornerstone to pull away and take the early lead in the match.
 
Cornerstone answered in the second, as a 6-0 run opened up a 10-point advantage, 16-6, and the Golden Eagles never looked back.  The tournament's second seed closed the third set on a 16-4 run after Lourdes was within two, 9-7, and a 7-0 run in the fourth set opened up a 12-3 advantage, one the Gray Wolves were unable to recover from.
 
Tylar Roberson (Elkhart, Ind./Central H.S.) led Lourdes with 12 kills, and was the only Gray Wolf with more than five for the match.  As a team fourth-seeded Lourdes hit -.052.
 
Shannon Fischer (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) had a team-high 13 digs for Lourdes while Angelica Dippold (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy) added 11 more.
 
Kendra Zwart led Cornerstone (27-6) to its 13^th-straight victory, recording 10 kills and eight blocks while Mackenzie Vallad had a match-high 21 digs defensively.
 
By virtue of its runner-up finish in the tournament, Lourdes (21-11) has earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships, which begin next Saturday, Nov. 18, on campus sites.  The Gray Wolves will find out their opponent and location of their Opening Round match on Monday (Nov. 13) at 11 a.m.