After winning the first two sets, Lourdes was pushed to the limit on Thursday afternoon before defeating Queens (N.C.) 25-21, 25-23, 13-25, 19-25, 15-11 in the season opener inside of the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"It feels great to start the year with a win," head coach Greg Reitz said after the match.  "We got out to a big lead but then had to battle the last few sets.  We relied on our teammates in the fifth set to pull out the match.  It was nice to be able to get some playing time for some of our newcomers today."
 
Each of the first two sets were tight, with Lourdes pulling out the victories late.  The opening stanza was tied at 13 when Lourdes scored five of the next seven points to take the lead for good.  The Gray Wolves had to rally in set two, trailing 12-7, before a 10-4 spurt pushed the hosts in front. 
 
In the third, Queens held Lourdes to a -.121 hitting percentage, forcing 12 Gray Wolf attack errors, to extend the match.  The Royals led nearly the entire fourth set as well on the way to evening the match after hitting .400 and .320 in back-to-back sets.
 
The fifth set tight with six ties and four lead changes in the race to 15.  With the set tied at 10, Lourdes registered four kills down the stretch, capped with Stefan Albrecht (Euclid, Ohio/Middletown [Wis.] H.S.) putting down the final one as the Gray Wolves finished on a 5-1 run to defeat their NCAA Division II foes.
 
Sawyer Schafer (Monroeville, Ohio/Monroeville H.S.) led Lourdes with 14 kills and 12 digs for a double-double while Tomas Olak (Rowville, Australia/Mazenod College) and Albrecht added 10 kills each.  Harrison McBean (Melbourne, Australia/Northern College of the Arts) hit .471 with 10 kills and added six blocks defensively.
 
Henrique Gehrke (Blumenau, Brazil/Escola Barao Do Rio Branco H.S.) handed out 39 assists over the four sets he played, leading a Lourdes offense that hit .113 on the afternoon.
 
Guga Heidrich (Braco do Norte, Brazil/Colegio Unificado H.S.) recorded 21 digs to lead the way as Lourdes held a 60-38 advantage in that statistical category.
 
Ananias Hayes led Queens (1-2) with 13 kills and hit .344 while Brandon Grabow handed out 37 assists and registered nine blocks.  The Royals swung at a .205 clip on the day.
 
Lourdes (1-0) will remain home on Tuesday evening, opening Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play hosting Mount Vernon Nazarene.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside the Ebeid Rec Center.