In a battle of NAIA top-10 programs, fourth-ranked Lourdes handed ninth-ranked Saint Xavier its first loss of the season on Friday evening, defeating the Cougars in five sets 25-21, 25-23, 25-27, 19-25, 15-12 inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"It is nice to come away with a win against a quality opponent," head coach Greg Reitz said after the match.  "It was a good bounce back after a tough road defeat and we played just well enough to get the victory.  Now we have to be ready to turn around and hit the road on Sunday as we face conference opponents the rest of the way."
 
Lourdes came out quickly, with Jeff Lam (Richmond, B.C./Hugh McRoberts H.S.) putting down 10 kills on 11 swings in the opening set.  Saint Xavier managed just one swing in the entire first stanza, which was close throughout.  There were nine ties, the last coming at 21-21 before Lam put down three kills on the way to closing out the set.
 
The Gray Wolves built a 19-13 lead in set two before holding off a late rally from the Cougars.  Saint Xavier pulled within one, 19-18, but the Gray Wolves were able to side out the remainder of the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
In set three Lourdes held a late 22-21 lead only to see Saint Xavier take advantage of several Gray Wolf errors down the stretch, pulling the set out in extra points.  Set four had nine more ties and seven lead changes before the Cougars went on a late 9-2 run to pull away and even the match.
 
Lourdes raced out to an 8-2 lead in the deciding set and forced the Cougars into a .000 hitting percentage in the stanza.  Saint Xavier battled back late, pulling within two, 14-12, but a service error ended the match.
 
Lam hit .440 with 28 kills in the match while Max Petuhov (Wets Hills, Calif./El Camino Real H.S.) added 12 more kills and committed just one error on the way to a .550 hitting percentage.  Ian Fields (Phoenix, Ariz./Sandra Day O'Connor H.S.) handed out 40 assists over the first four sets as the Lourdes offense finished the night hitting .238 as a team.
 
Defensively, Guga Heidrich (Braco do Norte, Brazil/Colegio Unificado) tallied 15 digs while Sawyer Schafer (Monroeville, Ohio/Monroeville H.S.) added 10 more.  Lourdes finished the night with a 55-34 dig advantage, but the Cougars had the edge in blocks 17-5.-7.
 
Shane Ooms led Saint Xavier (9-1) with 21 kills, 10 digs, and seven blocks while Grant Ooms added 11 kills.  Aaron Kummer handed out 46 assists for an offense that hit .117 on the night. 
 
Lourdes (5-1) will take to the road on Sunday afternoon as the Gray Wolves head to Adrian, Mich. to battle Siena Heights.  The opening serve is set for 2 p.m. inside SHU Fieldhouse.