Lourdes took a two sets to one lead over Aquinas on Friday evening, but the Saints rallied for a 25-20, 23-25, 19-25, 25-14, 15-9 victory over the Gray Wolves inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"We battled really well for most of the match but didn't have enough to finish the fifth set," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "This was a pretty strong performance though against a quality opponent."
 
Kortney Ellison (Millbury, Ohio/Lake H.S.) led Lourdes with 14 kills and hit .220 while Vanessa Villarreal (Monroe, Mich./Saint Mary Central Catholic H.S.) added 10 kills and 10 digs for a double-double.  Yasmin Assis (Salto, Brazil/Antonio Alves Aranha) handed out 32 assists and had 16 digs for a team that hit .054 overall.
 
Alli Plasencio (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) recorded 28 digs defensively while Michaela Eisenhauer (Castalia, Ohio/Margaretta H.S.) registered three blocks.
 
In set one, Aquinas went on an 8-1 run when the stanza was tied at 15 to pull away.  Lourdes turned the tables in the second, scoring three straight points when tied at 17 to take the lead for good.  A 7-1 Gray Wolf run in the third allowed the hosts to build a 20-13 advantage.
 
Lourdes fell behind 13-6 in set four and could not recover, as the Saints forced the decisive set.  A 7-1 run in the fifth by Aquinas (13-1, 7-1 WHAC) allowed the Saints to take a 12-7 lead on the way to the victory.
 
Jackie Rozell led Aquinas with 14 kills and 19 digs.
 
"We get another chance to compete tomorrow so we will see what we can do," Reitz concluded.
 
Lourdes (3-7, 3-6) will host Concordia (Mich.) on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. to continue its three-match homestand.