Lourdes University Athletics

For the fourth time this season Lourdes won a five-set match on Wednesday evening, as the Gray Wolves defeated Indiana Tech 17-25, 25-15, 25-17, 16-25, 15-10 inside the Schaefer Center in Fort Wayne, Ind.
 
The Gray Wolves improved to 4-1 in matches that have gone the distance in 2018, and increased their lead to two games in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference standings.
 
"We had to battle and withstand a team playing very well on their home court and we did just that," head coach Greg Reitz said after the match.  "We weathered the storm and were able to put together another gritty performance.  It was tough to get going, but we found a bit of a rhythm and rolled with it.  This was a big win for us on the road."
 
Lourdes overcame just a .129 hitting percentage on the evening, 12 fewer kills than the Warriors, 58-46, and a 90-79 dig deficit to earn the win.
 
Monique Oliveira (Rio Branco, Brazil/Americo Rene Giannetti H.S.) and Emily Drenth (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South H.S.) both registered double-doubles to lead the way.  Oliveira had 12 kills and 16 digs while Drenth added 12 kills and 10 digs.
 
The Gray Wolves fell behind 12-2 in the opening set and were never able to recover, putting down just five kills in the stanza.  Lourdes turned the tables in the second, building an early 9-3 advantage on the way to evening the match.
 
Lourdes registered 16 kills and hit .286 to take the third set.  Five straight points pushed an 11-9 advantage to seven points, and the Gray Wolves were within a set of victory.  Indiana Tech responded in the fourth, as a 13-3 run gave the Warriors a 14-5 lead on the way to forcing the decisive set.
 
Trailing 3-2 in the fifth, Lourdes went on a 7-2 run to take control, and the Gray Wolves secured their 11^th consecutive victory.
 
Niki Polce (New Boston, Mich./Huron H.S.) led the defense with 20 digs while Carol Goncalves (Brazilia, Brazil/Sagrado Corcacao de Maria H.S.) added 12 more to go along with 35 assists.  Angelica Dippold (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy) had 11 digs as well.
 
Jordan Aylward led Indiana Tech (12-11, 6-7 WHAC) with 12 kills while Madeline MacDonald had a match-high 30 digs for the Warriors.
 
Lourdes (15-1, 12-1) returns home on Friday to host Marian in a non-conference match.  First serve for the Homecoming weekend contest is set for 7 p.m. inside of the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.