Lourdes dropped its first match of the season on Saturday, falling in straight sets to third-ranked Missouri Baptist before rebounding with a three-set victory over host Judson on the final day of the Judson Early Bird Classic held inside Lindner Fitness Center in Elgin, Ill.
 
The fourth-ranked Gray Wolves fell 25-19, 25-22, 25-16, snapping their nine-match win streak to open the year.  Lourdes rebounded with a 25-18, 25-23, 25-16 victory over the Eagles.
 
Missouri Baptist hit .397 against the Gray Wolves in the morning match while limiting Lourdes to a .200 attack percentage, its lowest of the season to date. 
 
"We struggled to get into a rhythm serving and passing this match," head coach Greg Reitz said following the loss.  "They played a very good match and we didn't meet their level.  We have some work to do to get to where we want to be."
 
The opening set was tight, with the Gray Wolves trailing just 9-8 when the Spartans went on a 10-1 run to take control early in the match.  Missouri Baptist hit .520 in the stanza to offset Lourdes' .360 hitting mark.
 
In set two, a 9-2 run allowed the Spartans to open up a 13-7 lead and despite the Gray Wolves battling back, Lourdes was unable to complete the comeback.  Lourdes trailed 13-10 in set three before an 11-1 spurt by Missouri Baptist allowed the Spartans to pull away and complete the sweep.  Lourdes hit just .038 in the final set.
 
Jeff Lam (Richmond, B.C./Hugh McRoberts H.S.) led Lourdes with 11 kills and hit .444 for the match while Evan Gebert (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider H.S.) added seven kills.  Henrique Gehrke (Blumenau, Brazil/Escola Barao Do Rio Branco H.S.) handed out 27 assists.
 
Defensively, Guga Heidrich (Braco do Norte, Brazil/Colegio Unificado H.S.) tallied 10 digs, but Lourdes was outdug 27-24 and outblocked 3-1 for the match.
 
Luka Cajic led Missouri Baptist (13-2) with 16 kills and hit .571.
 
Lourdes bounced back against Judson, hitting .432 while holding a 30-18 advantage in digs.
 
"We played a consistent match and were able to keep our offensive performance efficient," Reitz added after the win. 
 
The Gray Wolves hit .500 with 17 kills in the opening set and closed on an 8-3 run to take the early lead in the match.  In set two, Lourdes rallied from a 19-15 deficit scoring six straight points to forge ahead.  The Eagles evened the set at 23, but back-to-back errors by the hosts allowed the Gray Wolves to pull in front 2-0 in the match.  The final set saw Lourdes hit .480 while yielding just six kills to Judson.  The Gray Wolves took a 6-1 lead and never looked back while completing the sweep.
 
Ricardo Gehrke (Blumenau, Brazil/Escola Barao Do Rio Branco H.S.) tallied 15 kills and hit .310 while Harrison McBean (Melbourne, Australia/Northern College of the Arts) put down all nine balls he was set for a perfect 1.000 hitting mark.  Heidrich had a team-high eight digs defensively.
 
"We need to get back to work now to prepare for conference play this week," Reitz concluded.

Lourdes (10-1) returns home on Wednesday evening to resume Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play, hosting Goshen.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.