Lourdes was pushed to five sets against both Robert Morris (Ill.) and Saint Andrews on Friday evening, and the Gray Wolves prevailed in both matches on the opening day of the Campbellsville Invitational held inside of Gosser Gymnasium in Campbellsville, Ky.
 
The ninth-ranked Gray Wolves downed Robert Morris 25-14, 25-20, 23-25, 20-25, 15-13 in the opening match before coming from behind to defeat Saint Andrews 25-14, 22-25, 22-25, 25-14, 15-6.
 
"I am very happy to come away with two wins," head coach Greg Reitz stated at the end of the night.  "We were pushed and had to really fight to get out of here with the wins.  I think we came together a bit as a team, and hopefully it translates into more success in the future."
 
Lourdes won the first two sets of the opener against Robert Morris before having to rally in the fifth set to secure the victory.  The Gray Wolves raced out to an 8-1 lead in the first set, and hit .464, on the way to the 25-14 win.  In set two, the Gray Wolves hit even better, .519, and used a 6-1 run to build a 19-14 lead on the way to taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The third set had 13 ties before the Eagles scored three of the final four points to extend the match.  The Lourdes offense slowed down, as the Gray Wolves hit just .172 in the third before posting a .059 hitting percentage in the fourth.  The Gray Wolves led 13-9 in the fourth before a 12-4 Robert Morris run allowed the Eagles to rally and force the fifth set.
 
The Gray Wolves managed just five kills in the fifth, but took advantage of eight Robert Morris attack errors to pull out the victory.  Lourdes trailed 13-11 before scoring the final four points, all on Eagle miscues.
 
Evan Gebert (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider H.S.) led Lourdes with 18 kills and hit .308 while Ricardo Gehrke (Blumenau, Brazil/Escola Barao Do Rio Branco) added 13 kills and 10 digs.  Matheus Andrade (Coronel Fabriciano, Brazil/Alberto Giovannini H.S.) also had a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs.  Henrique Gehrke (Blumenau, Brazil/Escola Barao Do Rio Branco) handed out 49 assists against the Eagles while Eric Ubior (Guaynabo, P.R./Wesleyan Academy) posted a match-high 15 digs.
 
Lourdes finished the match hitting .256 while limiting the Eagles to just a .145 mark and the Gray Wolves held a 55-38 dig advantage to offset Robert Morris' 13-7 block edge.
 
Scott Poppen led Robert Morris (7-5) with 14 kills while Timothy Carey had 12 digs.
 
In the nightcap against Saint Andrews, Lourdes led just 10-9 in the opening set before a 7-1 run allowed the Gray Wolves to take control.  Lourdes also scored the final five points of the set to build the early lead in the match.
 
The Knights responded with wins in the next two sets.  The Gray Wolves led 18-15 in the second before five straight points allowed Saint Andrews to take the lead for good.  In the third, Saint Andrews rallied from a 21-20 deficit with five of the final six points to build the 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Lourdes limited Saint Andrews to -.030 hitting in the fourth and the Gray Wolves led from start to finish to force the decisive fifth set.  Lourdes scored the first five points of the stanza and cruised to the win.
 
In the fifth, seven straight points from the service of Evan Kinard (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas H.S.) proved to be the difference as Lourdes built an 11-3 lead, one the Gray Wolves would not relinquish.
 
Andrade led Lourdes with 22 kills and hit .366 in the second match while Gebert added 15 kills and 10 digs.  Brendan Brown (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny H.S.) chipped in 10 kills and nine blocks while Henrique Gehrke handed out 47 assists and had 11 digs.  Ubior registered a match-high 15 digs.
 
Lourdes hit .217 for the match and had a 58-41 dig advantage while the Knights hit just .076 for the match.
 
Robin Imar led Saint Andrews (2-3) with 15 kills while Diego Hernandez tallied 13 digs.
 
Lourdes (8-4), winners of six straight contests, will close out play at the Campbellsville Invitational on Saturday morning, facing Judson.  First serve is set for 11 a.m. inside Gosser Gymnasium.