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Lourdes opened Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference action inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center on Wednesday evening with a 25-15, 18-25, 25-17, 25-18 victory over Indiana Tech to remain undefeated on the young season.
 
"It was great to get that first conference victory," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "We were a little shaky in some of our skills, but we performed when we needed to."
 
The Gray Wolves hit .303 with just two errors in the opening set to jump out to the early lead in the match.  A quick 4-0 spurt midway through allowed Lourdes to build a 14-8 advantage, and the hosts limited Indiana Tech to a .088 offensive attack in set one.
 
Indiana Tech (5-4, 0-1 WHAC) responded in the second, scoring seven of the first eight points.  The Warriors withstood a Lourdes run which pulled the Gray Wolves within two, 13-11, but Lourdes was never able to pull even in the set.
 
Lourdes flipped roles in the third, racing out to a 6-1 lead and never trailed in the stanza.  Sixteen kills with just one hitting error led to a .455 clip for the Gray Wolves.
 
The fourth set was tight throughout, with 10 ties and five lead changes.  With the set tied at 17, Lourdes scored eight of the final nine points to earn the victory.
 
Monique Oliveira (Rio Branco, Brazil/Americo Rene Giannetti H.S.) led Lourdes with 16 kills and 15 digs, while hitting .406 while Carol Goncalves (Brazilia, Brazil/Sagrado Corcacao de Maria H.S.) handed out 44 assists while recording 12 digs to register a double-double as well.
 
The Gray Wolf middles combined for 21 kills as Emily Arnold (Sylvania, Ohio/Southview H.S.) put down 12 balls on 21 swings without an error to hit at a .571 clip.  Evan Matheson (Fallon, Nev./Churchill County H.S.) added nine kills, hit .533, and posted a team-high six blocks.
 
"Our middles played really strong tonight," Reitz added.  "They were efficient offensively and blocked well."
 
Niki Polce (New Boston, Mich./Huron H.S.) led the backline defense with 18 digs.
 
Aubree Eggers hit .417 with a team-leading 14 kills for Indiana Tech while Madeline MacDonald tallied 26 digs.
 
Lourdes (4-0, 1-0) takes to the road next Wednesday evening, traveling to Southfield, Mich. to battle Lawrence Tech.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. from Ridler Fieldhouse.