Trailing two sets to none on the road Wednesday evening, Lourdes rallied for a 22-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-19, 15-9 victory over the University of Northwestern Ohio inside of Racer Gymnasium in Lima, Ohio.
 
The victory lengthens the Gray Wolves' winning streak to eight overall, and keeps Lourdes alone atop the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference as the first round of conference play comes to an end.
 
"This was a great team performance tonight," head coach Greg Reitz said after the win.  "We had to figure some things out and settle down from their crowd getting on us.  We got some more stellar performances from the bench and that was huge for us."
 
The Gray Wolves fell behind 2-0 as Northwestern Ohio swung at a .255 clip in the opening stanza and .286 in set two.  Lourdes led 16-13 in set one before five straight points allowed the hosts to pull in front for good.  The Gray Wolves pulled even at 21, but could not take the lead late.  In the second, the Racers never trailed and used a 10-2 spurt to open up a 20-11 lead.
 
Lourdes began its comeback in the third, jumping out to a 6-2 lead.  The Gray Wolves never trailed, nor allowed the Racers to tie the set, despite pulling within one, 14-13.  Lourdes closed with a 10-3 run to extend the match after limiting UNOH to just .023 hitting with 11 errors in the third.
 
A 17-kill effort in the fourth set helped aid Lourdes in forcing the decisive fifth set, as the Gray Wolves hit .353 while limiting the Racers to a. 069 clip.  Lourdes slowly pulled away, never allowing the hosts to score more than two consecutive points in the frame.
 
The fifth set was all Lourdes, as the Gray Wolves put down nine kills on just 14 swings, a .643 clip, while not making an error.  Leading 8-7, the Gray Wolves scored the next five points to take control and win their third five-set match in their last five contests.
 
Emily Drenth (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South H.S.) led the way for Lourdes with 18 kills while Tylar Roberson (Elkhart, Ind./Central H.S.) added 15 kills and hit .333.
 
Monique Oliveira (Rio Branco, Brazil/Americo Rene Giannetti H.S.) posted a double-double with 12 kills and a match-high 19 digs while hitting .310 and Emily Arnold (Sylvania, Southview H.S.) hit .389 with nine kills.  Carol Goncalves (Brazilia, Brazil/Sagrado Corcacao de Maria H.S.) handed out 46 assists while helping Lourdes hit .291 as a team.
 
Defensively, Angelica Dippold (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy) recorded 17 digs, Niki Polce (New Boston, Mich./Huron H.S.) added 14 digs, and Alli Plasencio (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) registered 11 as the Gray Wolves posted an 86-63 advantage in that category.  Arnold and Evan Matheson (Fallon, Nev./Churchill County H.S.) each tallied four blocks.
 
Erika Angstmann tallied 15 kills and 12 digs while Kayleigh Hulst handed out 52 assists, registered 12 digs, and had five service aces to pace Northwestern Ohio (15-5, 5-5 WHAC) as the Racers finished the night hitting .164 as a team.
 
Lourdes (12-1, 9-1) returns home on Friday evening as the Gray Wolves host the University of Michigan-Dearborn.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.