Lourdes battled back from a two-set hole to take the third set on Saturday evening, but Madonna closed out the match in the fourth, defeating the Gray Wolves 25-17, 25-14, 24-26, 25-14 inside the Alliance Catholic Credit Union Arena in Livonia, Mich.
 
"This was a tough match," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "It took us awhile to get going.  We showed some great fight in the third set, but it just wasn't enough to extend the match."
 
Allie Hale (Holland, Ohio/Springfield H.S.) led Lourdes with a double-double, tallying 12 kills and 13 digs while Michaela Eisenhauer (Castalia, Ohio/Margaretta H.S.) added nine kills and hit .304.  Eisenhauer also had five blocks.
 
Lourdes hit just .048 for the evening with Megan Vayansky (Pickerington, Ohio/North H.S.) handing out 25 assists.  Quinn Yondo (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central H.S.) picked up 23 digs.
 
Madonna (11-4, 9-4 WHAC) raced out to a 10-4 lead in the opening set before the Gray Wolves scored four straight points to pull within two.  The Crusaders answered with six points in a row of their own to put the set away.
 
In set two, Madonna committed just one attack error and hit .458 as a team while building a 2-0 match lead.  A 10-2 run in the middle of the set allowed the Crusaders to open up a 10-point advantage.
 
In set three Lourdes rallied from 23-16 down to force extra points on the way to extending the match.  Madonna used a 10-2 run early in the fourth to pull away though and secure the win.
 
Jodie Kelly led Madonna with 17 kills and 17 digs on the evening.
 
Lourdes (3-10, 3-9) will return home on Tuesday afternoon as the Gray Wolves host Siena Heights.  First serve is set for 4 p.m. inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.