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Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: Having won four straight matches, and 11 consecutive sets, second-ranked Lourdes wraps up a two-match homestand on Friday evening entertaining Saint Xavier.  The Gray Wolves are in a stretch where they are playing three out of four matches inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his eighth season both on the Lourdes bench, and overall coaching men's volleyball, Greg Reitz has a 144-61 (.702) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  He has earned five conference Coach of the Year honors during his first seven seasons at Lourdes.  He is the only head coach in program history.

Series Notes: Lourdes holds a 15-0 all-time advantage against Saint Xavier in a series that began Jan. 12, 2012.  The Gray Wolves have swept the last six contests between the two schools, including a pair during the 2017 season when the teams most recently met.  Lourdes is 1-0 all-time against Saint Xavier in the Ebeid Rec Center and 6-0 all-time in home matches.
 
Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes made quick work of Lawrence Tech in just over an hour on Wednesday evening (Feb. 13) in a 25-12, 25-18, 25-15 victory over the Blue Devils.  The Gray Wolves hit .382 as a team and outdug Lawrence Tech 41-23.  Ricardo Gehrke put down 11 kills while Evan Gebert added 10 more, hitting .562 in the process.  Collin Holt recorded 13 digs in the victory.

Scouting Saint Xavier: The Cougars have won eight straight matches after scoring a four-set victory at Cardinal Stritch on Monday evening to begin their current three-match road trip.  Kyle Springer leads Saint Xavier with 149 kills and is hitting .232 while also leading the Cougars with 21 service aces.  Aaron Kummer has handed out 445 assists to lead an offense hitting .233 on the season.  Defensively, Jake Olson has a team-high 113 digs while Andrew Bergstrand has been involved in 30 blocks.

Highest Ranking Ever: With Lourdes ranked second in the latest NAIA Top-10 Coaches Poll, this is the highest national ranking ever for the Gray Wolf men's volleyball program.  Lourdes jumped from fourth in the previous poll, but had been ranked as high as third earlier this season, the previous high for a program ranking.

Making Quick Work: Lourdes has yet to play a five-set match this season, having last played a contest that went the distance on April 17, 2018 in the first match of pool play at the NAIA National Invitational.  The Gray Wolves have swept their way to victory in six of their eight wins this year.

Holt Has Breakout Match: Collin Holt entered last week's match against Lawrence Tech with just 16 career digs after amassing nine last season and seven in his first four appearances in 2019.  Against the Blue Devils he nearly doubled his career total, registering a match-high 13 digs for the Gray Wolves.

Albrecht Puts Down Kills: Stefan Albrecht also had a breakout match for the Gray Wolves against Lawrence Tech.  In two sets of action, he hit .625 with six kills after having recorded just five total kills throughout the first portion of the season.  He also matched his career-high with three digs against the Blue Devils.

Facing Ranked Opponents: Lourdes is facing its third nationally-ranked opponent of the season on Friday against 10th-ranked Saint Xavier.  Ironically, the Gray Wolves' two other ranked foes were also 10th when Lourdes posted victories over Saint Andrews (Jan. 25) and at Clarke (Feb. 8).  Despite a 24-48 all-time mark versus ranked foes, the Gray Wolves have won nine of their last 11 matches against top-10 teams.

Quarterbacking the Offense: Henrique Gehrke leads the NAIA handing out 11.26 assists per set this season.  The Gray Wolves' sophomore setter has led Lourdes to a .308 hitting percentage as a team, a mark that ranks third nationally.

Putting Balls on the Floor: Lourdes ranks second as a team nationally averaging 13.06 kills per set.  Evan Gebert has led the Gray Wolves this year with 133 total kills, an average of 3.91 per stanza, a mark that ranks sixth in the NAIA.  Ricardo Gehrke also ranks 12th nationally with his 3.41 kills per set average.

Serving Up Aces: Jeff Lam has already tallied 16 service aces for the Gray Wolves in 2019, an average of 0.53 per set.  The sophomore ranks 11th in the NAIA in the statistical category.  As a team Lourdes ranks 13th nationally serving up 1.50 aces per set.

Playing Defense as Well: Lourdes has outdug all 10 of its opponents thus far this season, holding a 355-262 overall edge in that statistical category.  The Gray Wolves' 10.44 digs per set ranks seventh in the NAIA this season.  Matheus Andrade is 10th individually in digs per set nationally, registering 2.94 per stanza.

Record Book Watch: Evan Gebert has moved into second place on the school's career kills list with 766.  He only trails Frank Craig's (2012-2015) 1,002 kills.  Gebert also ranks fourth all-time with 49 service aces, one fewer than third place CJ Rilveria (2014-2017).  Henrique Gehrke is now third all-time with 1,068 career assists, 55 behind second place Steve Barcus (2012-2015).  Brendan Brown is second all-time with 258 career blocks, trailing only Craig's career total of 315.

This and That: Lourdes has not been swept in a match since Feb. 23, 2018 against UC Merced, a span of 25 matches ... Lance Blough leads the Gray Wolves in hitting percentage (.375), ranking 16th nationally ... following the Saint Xavier match, Lourdes will play three straight WHAC contests.