Fourth-ranked Lourdes continued its perfect start to the 2020 season on Friday, sweeping Lincoln (Ill.) before needing just three sets against Clarke as well on day one of the Judson Early Bird Classic held inside Lindner Fitness Center in Elgin, Ill.
 
The Gray Wolves were 25-16, 25-17, 25-15 victors over Lincoln before defeating Clark 25-14, 25-14, 25-17.
 
In the opening match against Lincoln, the Gray Wolves hit .417 as a team to overcome 15 service errors, on the way to registering their seventh consecutive three-set win.
 
Sawyer Schafer (Monroeville, Ohio/Monroeville H.S.) put down 14 of Lourdes' 43 kills in the match and hit .435 while Will Johnson (Geneva, Ill./Geneva H.S.) swung at a .429 clip with nine kills.  Harrison McBean (Melbourne, Australia/Northern College of the Arts) needed just 11 swings to register eight kills, posting a .727 hitting percentage.
 
"We played well this match," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "We made some changes and maintained the level of execution that we expect.  This was a very good team performance."
 
Lourdes used a 7-1 run midway through the opening set to take control, building a 13-8 advantage, and never looked back.  Lincoln took a 6-1 lead in the second set, but the Gray Wolves battled back, scoring seven straight points off the service of Henrique Gehrke (Blumenau, Brazil/Escola Barao Do Rio Branco H.S.) to take the lead 18-14 and would not trail the rest of the match.  In the third set, Lourdes hit .524 while limiting the Lynx to just five kills, completing the afternoon sweep.
 
Gehrke handed out 22 assists in two sets while Brady Boyle (Alpharetta, Ga./Chattahoochee H.S.) dished out 11 more in the third set.  Defensively, Collin Holt (Dallas, Texas/Hebron H.S.) led Lourdes with seven digs while Johnson was involved in five of the team's six blocks.
 
Jonathan Lindner led Lincoln (0-7) with six kills.
 
Evan Gebert (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider H.S.) led the way against Clarke, hitting .611 with 12 kills.  The Gray Wolf offense was again clicking, posting a .455 hitting percentage for the match.  Ricardo Gehrke (Blumenau, Brazil/Escola Barao Do Rio Branco H.S.) added nine kills and hit .444.
 
Lourdes did not allow Clarke to score a point off of its own serve until it was 22-11 Gray Wolves in the opening set, and used an early 8-2 run to build a 9-4 advantage, one they would not relinquish.  In set two, Lourdes raced out to a 14-3 lead while limiting the Pride to just six kills.  The Gray Wolves never trailed in the third set, but were tied at 11 before gradually pulling away for the win.
 
Henrique Gehrke handed out 12 assists and had a team-high six digs in two sets of action while Gebert and McBean were both involved in four blocks.  Lourdes registered nine service aces in the match while yielding just two.
 
"We had a strong serve and pass match," Reitz said following the second contest.  "We were able to run our complete offense consistently.  This was a good team win for us."
 
Lourdes (9-0) closes out action in the Judson Early Bird Classic on Saturday with two more matches.  The Gray Wolves face third-ranked Missouri Baptist at 11 a.m. EST before facing host Judson in a 3 p.m. EST contest.