Lourdes rallied from a two-set to one deficit to defeat second place Madonna 13-25, 25-15, 14-25, 25-21, 15-9 on Wednesday evening inside The Activities Center to complete the regular season sweep of the Crusaders.
 
"When we were down we found a way to keep fighting and our emotional level actually increased as the match progressed," head coach Greg Reitz said after the match.  "I am very proud of the effort put forth tonight."
 
Madonna raced out to an early lead in the opening set, scoring the match's first seven points.  The Crusaders committed just two attack errors in the frame and limited Lourdes to .103 hitting while winning the first set.
 
Lourdes turned the table in set two, as a 7-0 run put the Gray Wolves in front for good, 9-5.  Madonna was within three, 17-14 before the Gray Wolves closed the set on another 8-1 spurt to even the match.
 
Madonna (21-9, 13-4 WHAC) never trailed in set four, building a 16-5 lead to put the Crusaders within a set of the victory.  Lourdes battled back in the fourth though, a stanza that had 11 ties and eight lead changes.  Trailing 15-13, Lourdes scored four consecutive points to take the lead for good, and despite Madonna pulling even at 19, the Gray Wolves managed to extend the match winning the set down the stretch.
 
The Gray Wolves never trailed in the final frame, scoring seven of the first eight points to complete the comeback victory.
 
Kylee McBride (Peoria, Ariz./Mountain Ridge H.S.), Emily Drenth (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South H.S.), and Cammy Smith (Mansfield, Ohio/Ontario H.S.) all led Lourdes with 10 kills each, with Smith hitting a team-high .348 for the match.  Megan Vayansky (Pickerington, Ohio/North H.S.) handed out 23 assists while Yasmin Assis (Salto, Brazil/Antonio Alves Aranha H.S.) had 21 as the offense hit .150 on the night.
 
Defensively, Alli Plasencio (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) had a team-high 22 digs while Angelica Dippold (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy) added 15 more.  Smith had a team-high five blocks.
 
Jodie Kelly led Madonna (21-9, 13-4 WHAC) with 17 kills and 14 digs while Olivia Sweeney had a match-high 25 digs.
 
Lourdes (11-13, 8-8) will begin its final homestand of the regular season on Friday evening, as the Gray Wolves host Cornerstone.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.