Lourdes battled Lawrence Tech tight through three sets, but the Blue Devils pulled away in the fourth to defeat the Gray Wolves 25-15, 30-28, 25-27, 25-8 on Wednesday evening inside of Ridler Field House in Southfield, Mich.

"We struggled to get started tonight," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "We showed some signs of what we are working towards, but not enough to beat a quality opponent like LTU."
 
The Gray Wolves kept the opening set close until late, trailing just 18-14 before the 23^rd-ranked Blue Devils scored seven of the final eight points.  Lourdes was limited to just six kills in the opening set, but eight attack errors by Lawrence Tech kept the stanza close.
 
In set two, Lourdes had four set points and fought off two by the Blue Devils, but the hosts tallied three straight kills to close a set that was extended several times by both sides.  Lawrence Tech put down 21 kills in the frame before pulling out the win.
 
Lourdes fought back to extend the match in the third.  Three straight points after trailing 15-13 put the Gray Wolves in front for good.  Despite the Blue Devils pulling even three times down the stretch, Lourdes managed to pull out the victory.
 
Lawrence Tech (22-2, 13-0 WHAC) raced out to an 18-3 lead in the fourth and never looked back on the way to closing out the match.  The Blue Devils had 21 kills and hit .452 in the stanza.
 
For the match, the Gray Wolves hit just .106 compared to Lawrence Tech's .254 clip.  Lourdes was also outdug 103-75 in the contest.
 
Emily Drenth (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South H.S.) led the way for Lourdes with 10 kills while Alli Plasencio (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) and Angelica Dippold (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy) each had 20 digs.
 
Zakia Hunt led Lawrence Tech with 20 kills and hit .368 while Shelby Rasch recorded a match-high 29 digs.
 
Lourdes (10-12, 7-7) will return home on Friday evening to host Siena Heights.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center in the annual Dig Pink match.