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Lourdes closed out pool play at the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championships, as well as its 2017 season, on Thursday evening, as the Gray Wolves suffered a 27-25, 25-22, 25-21 setback to 21^st-ranked Bellevue inside the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
 
"I am not happy about the result of this match, but I am proud that we went out swinging and competed to the end," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "We had a chance in the first set, but we were not able to make a couple of extra plays.  That hurt us a bit, but we kept at it and fourth in the second.  We seemed accepting of a loss early in the third and then a fire was lit within and we battled back to make it close.  I'm very glad we did not just roll over.  It took guts to dig out of the hole and this team showed they had some."
 
The Gray Wolves led most of the first set, but never more than three, and held a 17-14 edge late in the stanza.  Bellevue was able to tie the set at 19 and the two schools traded side outs through 24-24.   After the Bruins fought off the first set point at 24-23, Lourdes staved off one of its own at 25-24 before the nationally-ranked foe capped an 11-ball rally with a kill followed by a Gray Wolf attack error to take the lead in the match.
 
Lourdes looked ready to even the match in the second, building a quick 11-4 lead only to see Bellevue respond with a 9-2 run to pull even at 13.  The lead went back-and-forth down the stretch before a Tylar Roberson (Elkhart, Ind./Central H.S.) kill tied the stanza at 22.  Bellevue managed to take advantage of a pair of Gray Wolf miscues over the final three points to build a 2-0 lead in the contest.
 
With the Bruins leading 5-4 in the third, Bellevue extended its lead with a 12-2 run to push its advantage to 11, 17-6.  Lourdes still trailed 23-14 before scoring six straight points to pull within three behind the service of Angelica Dippold (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy).  The Gray Wolves would not get any closer the rest of the way.
 
Roberson led Lourdes with 16 kills, hitting .325 on the evening, while completing her double-double with 10 digs.  Genessee Tate (West Covina, Calif./West Covina H.S.), one of two Gray Wolf seniors closing their career, added nine kills.
 
Dippold had a match-high 19 digs while Sarah Wisser (Schoolcraft, Mich./Schoolcraft H.S.) added 14 digs to go along with 23 assists for a double-double of her own.  Lauren Norman (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman H.S.), the other senior on the Lourdes roster, tallied a service ace and five digs in her Gray Wolf finale.
 
As a team Lourdes (22-14) hit .175 for the match with 44 kills, and outdug the Bruins 70-67.
 
Mikaylah Gillespie led Bellevue (30-13) swinging at a .520 with 13 kills and seven blocks.  Michaela Gardner added 12 kills while Cheyenne Mahnke had a team-leading 14 digs.  The Bruins swung at a .270 clip for the night.
 
"This was a tough tournament for us as far as a win-loss record," Reitz concluded.  "However, we learned a lot from a lot of our players and gained some valuable experience that can only be acquired in this venue.  We didn't play our best volleyball the whole time, but we saw glimpses of what we have come to know as Lourdes Gray Wolf volleyball.  This was a fine showing against this level of competition, and with most of the players returning we hope to continue this streak of visiting Sioux City at the end of next season."