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It took just 56 minutes on Friday evening for sixth-ranked Lourdes to register a 25-19, 25-22, 25-21 victory over Cardinal Stritch, a team that entered the match with 16 wins on the season, at the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"This was a very solid win for us," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "We passed the ball very well and hit efficiently in every set."
 
The offensive efficiency showed as Lourdes swung at a .374 clip for the match, hitting .323 or better in each of the three stanzas.  Five players racked up eight or more kills, led by Ryan Maune's (Washington, Mo./Saint Francis Borgia H.S.) 11 as part of a .450 hitting night.  Ryan Ferkel (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly H.S.) handed out 46 assists in the three-set victory.
 
"We distributed the ball really well," Reitz added.  "Ferkel ran a solid offense and located the ball well.  Our hitters took advantage."
 
Zachary Hawkins (Dickinson, Texas/Dickinson H.S.), Evan Gebert (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider H.S.), and Colby Magorien (Agoura Hills, Calif./Westlake H.S.) each added 10 kills, giving Lourdes four players double figure totals.  Brendan Brown (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny H.S.) chipped in eight more kills as part of a .636 hitting mark.
 
Lourdes surrendered the opening point of the match and that would be the only time the Gray Wolves would trail in a set the rest of the match.  Tied at six, Lourdes scored the next three points to take a lead they would not relinquish.
 
The second set saw the Gray Wolves put down 20 kills and hit .417, but the Wolves hung close through.  Cardinal Stritch was able to pull even 15-15, but was never able to take the lead.
 
Runs of 6-2 and 5-2 early in the third set allowed Lourdes build an 18-11 lead on the way to securing the match.
 
Caleb Moore led Cardinal Stritch (16-3) with 13 kills while Blake Janz added 10 more in the loss.
 
Lourdes (11-4) has now won eight of its last night matches overall, and will conclude its six-match homestand on Wednesday evening.  The Gray Wolves welcome Fort Wayne to the Ebeid Rec Center for a 7 p.m. contest.  The Mastodons will be the first NCAA Division I team to ever visit Lourdes for a regular season game in any sport.