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Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: Lourdes begins its search of a NAIA national championship as pool play begins Tuesday in the NAIA National Invitational.  The fourth-ranked Gray Wolves face Briar Cliff, a team they are tied with in the national rankings, to begin play on Tuesday.  Lourdes then battles top-ranked Missouri Baptist on Wednesday before closing the pool with Saint Andrews on Thursday.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his seventh season both on the Lourdes bench, and overall coaching men's volleyball, Greg Reitz has a 134-57 (.701) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  He has earned five conference Coach of the Year honors during his first six seasons at Lourdes.  He is the only head coach in program history.

Series Notes: Lourdes and Briar Cliff will be meeting for the first time on the volleyball court on Tuesday morning.  Missouri Baptist is 7-0 all-time against Lourdes in a series that began March 2, 2013.  The Spartans won the earlier meeting this season 3-0 inside the Ebeid Rec Center on Jan. 20.  Lourdes won the only previous meeting against Saint Andrews in five sets on Feb. 9 of this season at the Campbellsville Invitational.

Wrapping Up Last Week (or Two Weeks Ago): Lourdes bounced back from an opening set loss to defeat Hope International in four sets 21-25, 25-21, 28-26, 25-19 on April 6 in the semifinals of the Independent Group tournament inside the Ebeid Rec Center.  Matheus Andrade had 19 kills and 10 digs for the Gray Wolves in the victory.  In the title match on April 7, Lourdes defeated Benedictine-Mesa 25-18, 25-20, 15-25, 25-19.  Andrade had 12 kills and 13 digs in the victory as the Gray Wolves clinched the automatic bid to the NAIA National Invitational.

Scouting Briar Cliff: The Chargers earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Invitational despite falling in the quarterfinals of their group tournament to Ottawa (Kan.) in straight sets on April 7, ending a three-match winning streak.  Peyton Schirman leads Briar Cliff with 274 kills and is hitting .293 on the year.    Schirman also leads the Chargers with 17 service aces.  Enrique Ewart has handed out a team-high 418 assists.  Defensively, Noah Marasco-Ayau has tallied a team-best 217 digs while Nate Saksa has registered 58 blocks, including 11 solo rejections.

Scouting Missouri Baptist: The Spartans enter the NAIA National Invitational having won 16 consecutive matches after downing Ottawa (Kan.) in straight sets in the championship of their group tournament.  Luka Cajic has put down 344 kills this season while hitting .320.  Kyle Foley has handed out 887 assists for Missouri Baptist while adding 60 service aces.  Defensively, Colton Inman has registered 253 digs while Cameron Hibbler has blocked 78 balls, including 15 solos rejections.

Scouting Saint Andrews: The Knights enter the NAIA National Invitational having won five straight matches after capturing their group tournament title with a three-set victory over Warner.  Robin Imar has a team-leading 273 kills and is hitting .239 while also recording a team-high 49 service aces.  Jackson Stark has handed out 827 assists.  Defensively, Jacob DeSouza has registered 188 digs while Nate Blackwell has 53 blocks, including 12 solos.

Lourdes in the NAIA National Invitational: Lourdes is making its third NAIA National Invitational appearance, and fourth overall trip to the national tournament.  The Gray Wolves went 0-2 in their initial appearance in 2014.  In 2016, when it became the NAIA National Invitational, Lourdes downed Park before falling to Missouri Baptist ant Grand View..  Last year, the Gray Wolves defeated Cardinal Stritch before losing to Grand View and Park.

Group Honors: Evan Gebert was named to the All-Independent Group First Team while Brendan Brown and Eric Ubior both garnered All-Independent Group Second Team accolades.  Gebert is averaging a team-leading 3.55 kills per set while hitting .269 this year.  Brown is hitting .362 while adding 1.03 blocks per set.  Ubior is tallying 3.23 digs per set.

Among the Nation's Leaders: Lourdes leads all NAIA men's volleyball programs registering 12.27 digs per set this season.  The Gray Wolves are also tallying 12.26 assists per set, a mark that ranks third nationally, while the team's 12.98 kills per stanza also rank third in the country.  Lourdes is 11th in hitting percentage at .252 while their 1.89 blocks per set are 19th and their 1.12 service aces per stanza are 20th nationally.

Individual Leaders: Eric Ubior ranks sixth in NAIA men's volleyball recording 3.23 digs per set on the year.  Brendan Brown ranks eighth in the national posting 1.03 blocks per set while Matt Mittry is 10th with a .368 hitting percentage.  Brown is also 12th in hitting percentage at .362 while Evan Gebert ranks 15th with 3.55 kills per set.   

This and That: Eric Ubior is the only Gray Wolf to appear in all 100 sets in 2018 ...Ubior surpassed the 700 dig plateau against Benedictine-Mesa, and enters the NAIA National Invitational with 703 for his career ... Evan Gebert surpassed 600 career kills, entering play with 602 all-time ... Gebert needs 10 digs to reach 300 for his career ... Lourdes is 15-0 this season when winning the opening set.