Lourdes forced Indiana Tech to a fifth set on Wednesday evening in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference opener, but the Warriors prevailed 25-15, 19-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-11 inside the Schaefer Center in Fort Wayne, Ind.
 
"We didn't quite play well enough to win," head coach Greg Reitz said after the match.  "We didn't hit efficiently enough to score points with our serve.  We have some things to work on moving forward."
 
Lourdes led 6-4 in the opening set when the Warriors went on a 13-1 run to seize control.  The Gray Wolves were able to pull within five, 20-15, late, but Indiana Tech closed with the final five points to take the early lead in the match.
 
Seven straight points off the serve of Megan Vayansky (Pickerington, Ohio/North H.S.) allowed Lourdes to build a 15-9 lead in the second as the Gray Wolves were able to even the match.  Indiana Tech hit .333 in the third stanza to retake the lead in the contest.
 
Again Lourdes battled back.  In the fourth, the Gray Wolves forced 11 Warrior attack errors as the hosts hit just .026 in the set pushing the match to the decisive fifth set.  Indiana Tech led 9-8 in the final frame before scoring the next five points.  Lourdes saved three match points, but was unable to extend the match further.
 
Allie Hale (Holland, Ohio/Springfield H.S.) led Lourdes with 16 kills while Kylee McBride (Peoria, Ariz./Mountain Ridge H.S.) added 12 more.  Vayansky handed out 24 assists but the Gray Wolf offense hit just .083 on the night.
 
Defensively, Angelica Dippold (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy) led Lourdes with 22 digs while Emily Drenth (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South H.S.) added 16 more.  Alli Plasencio (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) chipped in 13 digs.
 
Olivia Niekamp led Indiana Tech (9-2, 1-0 WHAC) with 13 kills while Madeline MacDonald had 24 digs.
 
Lourdes (3-5, 0-1) will have a week off before returning home next Wednesday, Sept. 18 to host Lawrence Tech.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.