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For the third straight season Lourdes is one of the final 32 NAIA teams playing, as the Gray Wolves defeated Webber International on Saturday evening 23-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-13 in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round held inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
With the victory, the Gray Wolves advance to Sioux City, Iowa for the pool play portion of the NAIA National Championship.
 
"This is a huge step for this team to make it to the finals site because the expectations weren't there this year," head coach Greg Reitz said after the match.  "Hopefully we can be loose when we get there and keep playing well.  We have some players on the roster that have experience playing in that setting so we should know what to expect when we arrive."
 
The Gray Wolves started strong on Saturday evening, building a 16-10 lead and eventually holding a 23-19 advantage in the opening set, only to see the Warriors rally late, tallying the last six points to take the early lead in the match.
 
Set two had 12 ties and six lead changes, with neither team holding a lead of more than two points when Webber International had a 19-18 edge.  Five straight points from the Gray Wolves, two from Jami Markus (Oregon, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) service aces as well as a kill from the Lourdes setter which started the run put the hosts in front 23-19.  Emily Arnold (Sylvania, Ohio/Southview H.S.) and Tylar Roberson (Elkhart, Ind./Central H.S.) evened the match with back-to-back kills to close out the set.
 
The third set saw eight more ties, the latest at 19-19, before the Gray Wolves scored six of the final seven points, putting Lourdes on the brink of advancing.  The Terracotta and Black took control in the fourth, as the service of Markus and Kristin Murrell (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) allowed the Gray Wolves to build an 11-2 advantage.  Murrell then served out the final six points of the match as well, in a set in which Lourdes limited the Warriors to just six total kills and a -.026 hitting percentage.
 
"We started the match well in the first set but then we relaxed late," Reitz added.  "They are a good team that is not going to quit and it showed as they rallied.  We let set one slip through our fingers, but responded well which is a positive.  We hit significantly better in set two (.312) and played better defense in the third.  We really turned it up a notch in set four, hitting efficiently while some very solid defense."
 
Lourdes spread its offense around on the evening, with Chelsea Lawrence (Palmdale, Calif./Highland H.S.) posting a team-high 12 kills while swinging at a .375 clip.  Roberson had a double-double with 11 kills and a match-high 26 digs, while Arnold put down 10 kills without an error for a .400 hitting percentage while adding eight blocks, including four solos.  Markus quarterbacked the offense with 41 assists while adding 12 digs for a double-double of her own.
 
Angelica Dippold (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy) added 18 digs for the Gray Wolves as Lourdes held a slim 78-76 edge in that category.  Lourdes also outblocked Webber International 8-7 and had eight service aces while surrendering just three.
 
Brittany Taksas and Virginia Salanoa-Sagapolu led Webber International (25-6) with 12 kills each while Michelle Calderon added 24 digs defensively.
 
Lourdes (22-11) will begin the first of three straight days of pool play on Tuesday, Nov. 28 inside the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City with the pool pairings announced on Sunday evening.