Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: After a 10-day layoff, Lourdes returns to the court on Friday evening for its final non-conference match of the season as the fourth-ranked Gray Wolves host ninth-ranked Saint Xavier in a NAIA top-10 showdown.  Lourdes then resumes Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play on Sunday afternoon, traveling north to face Siena Heights.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his 10th season both on the Lourdes bench, and overall coaching men's volleyball, Greg Reitz has a 181-69 (.724) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  He has earned six conference Coach of the Year honors during his first nine seasons at Lourdes, including the WHAC Coach of the Year in 2018.  He is the only head coach in program history.

Series Notes: Lourdes is 17-0 all-time against Saint Xavier in a series that began Jan. 20, 2012.  The Gray Wolves have swept eight straight matches against the Cougars, including a three-set win in Chicago, Ill. last season.  Lourdes has downed Saint Xavier twice inside the Ebeid Rec Center.  The Gray Wolves hold a 24-1 all-time series edge against Siena Heights going back to the initial meeting on Feb. 14, 2012.  The Gray Wolves have won the last three contests between the two schools, including a four-set triumph in the Ebeid Rec Center last season.  Lourdes is 9-1 against the Saints in Adrian, Mich.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes registered its fourth straight victory to open the season on Feb. 5 with a 25-15, 25-22, 25-18 win over 13th-ranked Goshen.  Jeff Lam hit .355 with 14 kills and 16 digs while Ricardo Gehrke added 11 kills.  The Gray Wolves suffered their first setback of the season on Feb. 9 with a 23-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-22 loss at Indiana Tech.  Lam put down 21 kills while Guga Heidrich recorded 14 digs.

Scouting Saint Xavier: The Cougars remained undefeated with a straight sets victory over Roosevelt last Thursday (Feb. 11), extending their consecutive sets won streak to 10.  Grant Ooms leads Saint Xavier with 117 kills, 15 service aces, and is hitting .265 while Justin McCarthy is swinging at a .353 clip.  Aaron Kummer has handed out 345 assists this year.  Defensively, Kyle Springer has a team-high 85 digs while Kummer has registered 21 blocks.

Scouting Siena Heights: The Saints picked up their first win of the year in four sets at Adrian on Feb. 13 and will host Indiana Tech on Friday before Lourdes visits.  Alex Garavalia has a team-high 38 kills and is hitting .286 while Keegan Crawford has handed out 80 assists.  Kevin Gomez has notched five aces.  Defensively, Joudiel Poveymirow has 28 digs while Jakob Pickett has eight blocks.

Facing Ranked Foes: With another ranked opponent on the schedule in Saint Xavier, Lourdes enters the match 32-54 all-time against teams in the NAIA top-15 (previously top-10) poll.  Lourdes is 1-1 this year against ranked foes and the Gray Wolves went 2-3 against ranked foes last season.

Playing Defense: Lourdes leads all NAIA programs averaging 13.32 digs per set thus far in 2021.  The Gray Wolves have outdug all five of their opponents this year.  Individually, Guga Heidrich also leads the NAIA tallying 4.16 digs per stanza while Jeff Lam (32nd, 2.46) and Sawyer Schafer (42nd, 2.16) both rank in the top-50 nationally as well.

Setting a New School Record: Jeff Lam set a new program record with his 88th career service ace at Indiana Tech.  He has passed his former teammate, Evan Gebert (2017-2020), who tallied 87 during his four years at Lourdes.

Putting Down Kills: Jeff Lam has recorded 61 kills over the first five matches for the Gray Wolves, averaging 4.69 kills per set.  His average ranks fifth among all NAIA players.  As a team, Lourdes is tallying 12.79 kills per set, also fifth best in the country.  

Also Among the NAIA Leaders: Lourdes ranks second in the NAIA handing out 12.37 assists per set.  The Gray Wolves also rank in the top-20 (20th) with a .213 hitting percentage.  Individually, Jeff Lam is fourth in the country averaging 0.92 service aces per stanza and is 20th with a .364 hitting percentage.  Henrique Gehrke is eighth nationally tallying 9.82 assists per set.

Adding to the Record: Henrique Gehrke continues to distance himself from second place on the school's career assist list.  The senior enters the week with 2,543 helpers.  Gehrke has 261 assists more than current assistant coach Ryan Ferkel (2014-2017), who is second on the list.  

Record Watch: Jeff Lam and Ricardo Gehrke rank third and fifth respectively in career kills.  Lam currently has 807 kills, surpassing Nick DiMarco's (2012-2013) total of 753 while Gehrke is one spot behind DiMarco in the list with 706 career kills.  Lam is 195 kills behind second place Frank Craig (2012-2015), who graduated with 1,002 kills.  Henrique Gehrke ranks sixth all-time at Lourdes with 501 career digs, 61 behind fifth place Matheus Andrade (2018-2019).

An Expanded WHAC: The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference has added a pair of new teams for the upcoming 2021 men's volleyball season.  Cornerstone has added the sport for the first time while affiliate member Mount Vernon Nazarene has also joined the league.  The WHAC has eight members for the upcoming campaign.

This and That: Lourdes had dropped just three sets all season before falling to Indiana Tech in the match ... the Gray Wolves are holding the opposition to just .137 hitting ... Lourdes has won seven straight matches at home in the Ebeid Rec Center and is 29-8 all-time on its home court.