For the first time in program history, Lourdes has advanced to the NAIA National Invitational semifinals after defeating Saint Andrews 25-27, 25-23, 25-17, 25-18 on Thursday morning to close out pool play in the Charles S. Johnson Wellness Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
 
"We took care of business like we had to," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards. "We got some very strong performances from a few of the guys that helped some of the others out.  It was a solid team win."
 
Jeff Lam (Richmond, B.C./Hugh McRoberts H.S.) put down 19 kills while hitting .441 and Matheus Andrade (Coronel Fabriciano, Brazil/Alberto Giovannini H.S.) added 11 kills in the win.  Henrique Gehrke (Blumenau, Brazil/Escola Barao Do Rio Branco H.S.) handed out 27 assists and Ian Fields (Phoenix, Ariz./Sandra Day O'Connor H.S.) added 17 more as the pair quarterbacked the offense to a .289 hitting percentage.
 
Lourdes jumped out to an early 9-3 lead in the opening set before the Knights came charging back.  A 12-5 run allowed Saint Andrews to take a 16-15 lead.  The set remained tight the rest of the way, and Lourdes had a set point at 24-23, but the Knights responded to take the early lead.
 
Saint Andrews rushed out to a 6-1 lead in the second before the Gray Wolves scored eight of the next nine points to pull in front.  The lead changed hands throughout the set before back-to-back points on Knight errors at 20-20 allowed Lourdes to take the lead for good and even the match.
 
In the third, Lourdes went on a 9-2 run to take charge, building a 19-11 advantage and never looked back.  The Gray Wolves hit .478 in the stanza, moving one set away from victory.
 
The fourth-ranked Gray Wolves never trailed in the fourth, slowly extending the lead with several multi-point runs.  Andrade's kills secured the victory, allowing Lourdes to finish pool play with a 2-1 record.
 
Eric Ubior (Guaynabo, P.R./Wesleyan Academy) led the defense with 16 digs while Gehrke added 12 and Evan Gebert (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider H.S.) picked up 11 as the Gray Wolves won the defensive battle 57-47.  Matt Mittry (Tustin, Calif./Calvary Chapel H.S.) blocked a team-high three shots.
 
Robin Imar led Saint Andrews (19-9) with 14 kills and hit .323 while Edgar Huerta and Jacob DeSouza had 11 digs each.  The Knights hit .203 for the match.
 
Lourdes (23-7) will face Benedictine-Mesa on Friday evening in the second national semifinal.  First serve is set for 8 p.m. EDT.