Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: After winning seven of their last eight matches, Lourdes continues its longest homestand of the season on Friday evening as the Gray Wolves welcome Cardinal Stritch to the Ebeid Rec Center.  Friday's contest is the fifth straight home match for Lourdes during the six-match homestand.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his sixth season both on the Lourdes bench, and overall coaching men's volleyball, Greg Reitz has a 103-46 (.691) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  He was named to the MAMVIC East Coach of the Year in 2012 and the Great Lakes Conference Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2015 while earning Mideast Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2016.  Reitz is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Lourdes and Cardinal Stritch have split their previous 12 meetings 6-6 dating back to Jan. 27, 2012.  The Gray Wolves have won six of the last seven in the series, though, including a four-set win at home and a straight sets triumph in Milwaukee, Wis. last year.  Lourdes went 1-4 against Cardinal Stritch in matches played at Tam-o-Shanter.
 
Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes limited Lawrence Tech to just 19 kills on Wednesday evening as the Gray Wolves opened the week with a 25-11, 25-20, 25-16 victory over Lawrence Tech.  Zachary Hawkins led Lourdes with nine kills in the win.  Friday afternoon, led by 13 kills from Colby Magorien, Lourdes managed to pull out a 25-21, 27-29, 25-15, 25-22 win over eighth-ranked Missouri Valley.  Later that evening, Lourdes was unable to rally after falling behind two sets and dropped a 25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 22-25, 15-10 decision to seventh-ranked Warner.  Ryan Maune put down 19 kills in the loss.  Lourdes closed the weekend with a sweep of fifth-ranked Robert Morris (Ill.) 25-21, 25-19, 25-20.  Hawkins again led the Gray Wolves with 10 kills.

Scouting Cardinal Stritch: The Wolves enter the week having won eight straight matches after posting a pair of five-set wins against Wittenberg and Marian last Saturday.  Cardinal Stritch visits Calumet on Thursday before heading to Lourdes.  Caleb Moore leads the Wolves with 133 kills and is hitting .3229 while Joe Duda has handed out 574 assists and also leads the squad with 140 digs.  Connor O'Ryan leads the team with 19 service aces and 59 blocks, including nine of the solo variety.

A Quality Victory: Lourdes' victory on Saturday against fifth-ranked Robert Morris (Ill.) matched the highest ranked team the Gray Wolves have ever defeated in program history.  Lourdes had previously beat Grand View (March 3, 2012 and March 20, 2015) twice when they were ranked fifth nationally.  This season the Gray Wolves are 3-4 against nationally ranked foes, improving their all-time record to 14-40 against teams in the NAIA top-10.

Another Honor for Rilveria: CJ Rilveria was named the NAIA National Libero of the Week for the third time this season after leading the Gray Wolves to a 4-1 week.  The senior tallied 65 digs (4.07/set) over 15 sets, posting four double figure dig contests, including two with 20 or more in a match.  Rilveria has now earned the accolade seven times during his career.

Swinging With Authority: Ryan Maune has made the most of his swings thus far this year, posting a .443 hitting percentage, a mark that ranks fifth in NAIA.  He has taken over the team's lead in kills with 153 (2.94/set) despite having just the third highest attempt total on the squad.

Avoid Surrendering Free Points: Lourdes has done a good job of limiting the opposition to free points.  The Gray Wolves have surrendered just 40 service aces in 52 sets (0.77/set).  In addition, Lourdes has committed just 10 net violations for blocking errors and 10 ball handling errors.

Sharing the Duties: As a team Lourdes ranks second nationally handing out 12.60 assists per set.  The Gray Wolves have done it with two setters this year.  Ryan Ferkel has dished out 329 helpers (7.14/set) while Ian Fields has contributed 264 assists (6.44/set) during his rookie season.

150: Friday's match against Cardinal Stritch will mark the 150th all-time for the Gray Wolf program, which began in January of 2012.  Lourdes has won 103 matches over the six seasons.

Now That's Consistency: Lourdes has started each of the past three seasons with a record of 10-4 or better, matching the Gray Wolves' start this year.  While 2014 and 2015 saw the team at 10-4, Lourdes posted a 12-2 mark through 14 contests in 2016.

Shifting Conferences: NAIA has reshuffled its conferences yet again heading into 2017. The Gray Wolves will play a double round-robin slate against Lawrence Tech, and Siena Heights as part of a divided independent group.  The top two teams from the three Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference schools will advance to the conference tournament against the top two teams among Benedictine at Mesa, Hope International, and UC Merced, which comprise the other half of the independent group.  The west coast will host this year's postseason event.

This and That: CJ Rilveria just passed the 850-dig mark for his career, entering the week with 853 in his four seasons at Lourdes ... Ryan Ferkel has moved by 1,700-career assists, entering the week with 1,733 in his career ... Brendan Brown just surpassed 100 career blocks (102).