Lourdes played even with top-ranked Grand View for two sets on Thursday, but the Vikings won the final two, defeating the Gray Wolves 25-21, 15-25, 25-21, 25-13 at the Petty Sports and Recreation Complete in Saint Louis, Mo. to open pool play at the NAIA National Invitational.
 
"We played extremely well in the second set," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "If you want to be successful at this level though, you have to play that way the entire match."
 
In a tightly contests opening set in which there were seven ties, Grand View scored five straight points late to build a 21-17 lead on the way to the win.  The Vikings hit .355 with 15 kills to open the match.
 
Sixth-ranked Lourdes turned the table in the second, swinging at a .346 clip while committing just two errors, and held the Vikings to .083 hitting.  The Gray Wolves jumped out to a 10-5 lead and went on another 6-2 run to extend the lead to 19-10 on the way to evening the match.
 
After the 10-minute intermission, the two teams played even most of the third set.  The 16^th tie of the stanza evened the set at 21 before three straight attack errors by the Gray Wolves gave Grand View a set point.  The Vikings converted and built a 2-1 advantage.
 
The third set was tied at seven when the Vikings went on an 8-1 run to seize control, and began to close out the match.  Grand View hit .452 in the set with just two errors while putting down 16 kills.
 
"They stepped up their defense late in the match and it made it tough for our offense," Reitz added.  "We didn't pass well and that made it tough for us to get the offense going."
 
Zachary Hawkins (Dickinson, Texas/Dickinson H.S.) led the Gray Wolves with 13 kills while Eric Ubior (Guaynabo, P.R./.Wesleyan Academy) added a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs while hitting a team-leading .296.  Evan Gebert (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider H.S.) chipped in 11 kills as Lourdes hit just .195 for the match.
 
CJ Rilveria (Kula, Hawaii/Kekaulike H.S.) tallied a team-high 18 digs while Grady O'Neil (Anthem, Ariz./Boulder Creek H.S.) also had 10 digs.  Ryan Maune (Washington, Mo./Saint Francis Borgia H.S.) was involved in five blocks while Brendan Brown (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny H.S.) was credited with four rejections.
 
Pedro Cardoso led Grand View (23-3) with 21 kills, hit .513, and added 10 digs while Tim Johnson had 15 kills for the Vikings.  Grand View hit .284 as a team for the match.
 
Lourdes (20-8) will close out pool play on Friday afternoon, facing third-ranked Park.  The Gray Wolves need a win to have a chance to advance to the semifinals Friday evening.  The opening serve is set for 2 p.m. EDT in Saint Louis.