Culver-Stockton Photo Gallery

Lourdes opened the 2018 season on Friday, hosting the Lourdes Invitational inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center, and split a pair of matches.  The Gray Wolves fell to Culver-Stockton 29-27, 19-25, 25-18, 25-20 in the opener before rebounding for a 25-23, 24-26, 25-23, 25-19 victory over Saint Ambrose.
 
The fourth-ranked Gray Wolves started the day quickly against Culver-Stockton, taking advantage of eight straight attack errors by the Wildcats, including two via blocks, to lead 8-0.  The visitors battled back, using a 12-3 run, to pull within two, 17-15.  Lourdes pushed the lead back to four, 21-17, only to see Culver-Stockton respond with six of the next seven points to take their first lead of the match, 23-22.  The Gray Wolves would fight off four set points, but could never get one of their own before suffering an opening set defeat.
 
Lourdes never trailed in the second set after racing out to a 4-1 lead.  The Gray Wolves pushed the advantage to as many as five, 12-7, only to see Culver-Stockton battle back to even the stanza at 15.  Lourdes never allowed the Wildcats to take the lead though, scoring the next two points before ending the set on a 5-1 run.
 
Culver-Stockton took control early in the third, building a 9-4 lead, and the Gray Wolves were never able to recover.  Lourdes pulled within two, 14-12, only to see the Wildcats score four of the next five points on the way to a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The fourth set was tight until late, with five ties and four lead changes.  Lourdes led 19-17, but Culver-Stockton surrendered just one point the rest of the way, closing the match on an 8-1 run to earn the victory.
 
"We definitely didn't play our best volleyball against a team that is playing extremely well in Culver-Stockton," head coach Greg Reitz said following the opener.  "Our serve and pass was off a bit from where it has been in practice."
 
Evan Gebert (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider H.S.) led Lourdes with 16 kills while Henrique Gehrke (Blumenau, Brazil/Escola Barao Do Rio Branco H.S.) handed out 33 assists.  Eric Ubior (Guaynabo, P.R./Wesleyan Academy) had a team-leading 10 digs.
 
Ammuniki Wood led Culver-Stockton (2-1) with 14 kills, 11 blocks, and hit .407 while Shaquille Barker added 13 kills.
 
In the evening match, Lourdes had to battle back late in the opening set.  The Gray Wolves trailed 14-10 early and still trailed 21-18 before scoring seven of the final nine points, including the last four to rally for the win.  Lourdes hit .519 with just two errors in the opening stanza.
 
Saint Ambrose managed to even the match despite Lourdes hitting .483 in the second.  The Fighting Bees jumped out to an 8-4 lead only to see Lourdes respond, and eventually take a 19-17 lead late in the stanza.  Saint Ambrose needed extra points before securing the victory.
 
In the third set, Lourdes had to battle from behind late to avoid falling behind in the match.  The Gray Wolves trailed 22-19 before scoring five straight points, taking advantage of four straight Saint Ambrose errors to pull in front, turning a potential deficit into a 2-1 lead in the contest.
 
Lourdes pulled away early in the fourth.  Trailing 8-7, the Gray Wolves scored five straight points to take the lead for good, and used another 5-0 run late, after Saint Ambrose cut the lead to 17-15, to secure the team's first victory of the season.
 
"We had to battle tonight and were able to score real points when we need to," Reitz commented.  "We did a good job of scoring some points in transition and making some big digs.  Our serving improved as the night progressed as well."
 
Gebert led Lourdes with 18 kills and hit .394 while Jeff Lam (Richmond, B.C./Hugh McRoberts H.S.) added 13 kills.  Ubior had 15 digs and Gehrke handed out 44 assists as the Gray Wolves hit .319 for the match.
 
Matt Mittry (Tustin, Calif./Calvary Chapel H.S.), who hit .762 with 16 total kills on the day, added eight blocks defensively.
 
Jaylen Clark led Saint Ambrose (0-2) with 14 kills while hitting .579 and Scott MacGillis added 12 kills for the Fighting Bees.
 
Lourdes (1-1) will close out the tournament on Saturday afternoon, hosting third-ranked Missouri Baptist.  First serve is set for 12:30 p.m. inside of the Ebeid Rec Center.