Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: Less than five months after the 2020 season came to a close, Lourdes begins its 12th season of intercollegiate volleyball this weekend as the Gray Wolves head to the Windy City.  Lourdes battles Saint Xavier on Friday evening before facing both Judson and Trinity Christian on Saturday afternoon.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his 12th season on the Lourdes bench, Greg Reitz has a 203-146 (.582) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  In his 14th season overall as a women's head coach, Reitz has a 223-181 (.552) career mark.  He is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history and was named WHAC Coach of the Year in 2015.

Series Notes: Saint Xavier leads the all-time series against Lourdes 3-2 dating back to Sept. 21, 2013.  The Cougars have won the last two meetings against the Gray Wolves after downing Lourdes in five sets on Jan. 23, 2021 inside the Ebeid Rec Center.  Saint Xavier won the only previous meeting in Chicago, Ill. in five sets back in 2014.  Lourdes and Judson will be meeting on the court in women's volleyball for the first time on Saturday afternoon.  The Gray Wolves and Trinity Christian have split a pair of meetings in a series that began Sept. 3, 2011.  Lourdes won the last meeting between the two schools in straight sets on Nov. 21, 2015 at Savage Arena in Toledo in the opening round of the NAIA National Championships.

Wrapping Up 2020: Lourdes finished the 2020 season (which was played in the spring of 2021) with a 5-13 record overall and a 5-11 mark in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.  The Gray Wolves finished eighth in the regular season standings before falling in three sets at Aquinas in the WHAC tournament quarterfinals.

Scouting Saint Xavier: The Cougars are opened the 2021 season on Wednesday evening with a three-set loss on the road at 25th-ranked Bethel (Ind.).  Jessica Belseth led Saint Xavier with 14 kills while Kaleigh Ritter handed out 29 assists.  Defensively, Avanna Martinez registered a match-high 11 digs while Courtney Hunter recorded two blocks.

Scouting Judson: The Eagles opened their season last Saturday with three set sweeps at home against Rochester (Mich.) and Clarke.  Mackenzie Ebert hit .429 with 27 kills over the two matches.  Ebert also led the team with nine blocks.  Natalie Kofie handed out a team-high 31 assists on the opening weekend while Enola Varga registered 26 digs.

Scouting Trinity Christian: The Trolls open their season on Friday evening hosting Saint Francis (Ind.) before entertaining Lourdes on Saturday.  Last season Trinity Christian went 20-9 overall and 16-3 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, before advancing to the opening round of the NAIA National Championships.  

Lourdes in Season Openers: Lourdes is 6-5 all-time in season-opening matches.  The Gray Wolves have dropped four of their last five openers after falling in five sets to Saint Xavier in last season's first match that took place in January at home.  Lourdes last won an opener in 2018, a four-set triumph at home against Taylor.

2020 Award Winner: Michaela Eisenhauer was named a Second Team All Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference selection for the Gray Wolves last season.  She led Lourdes with a .208 hitting percentage while finishing second on the team with 133 kills (1.85/set).  Eisenhauer also recorded a team-high 23 service aces (0.32/set) and 58 blocks (0.81/set), including 12 of the solo variety.

Plasencio All Over the Record Books: Alli Plasencio enters the season ranked third in program history with 976 career digs.  She is 629 behind Angelica Dippold (2016-2019) for second all-time.  Plasencio also ranks eighth all-time with 70 service aces, needing eight more to match Michi Jiminez (2012-2015) for seventh on the career charts.  Plasencio ranks seventh in school history having appeared in 270 sets all-time, 43 behind Ali Mass' (2010-2013) sixth place total.  Plasencio is ninth with 74 matches played, with her next appearance matching Kristin Murrell (2016-2018) for eighth all-time at Lourdes.

Also in the Record Books: Michaela Eisenhauer enters the year ranked ninth in career hitting percentage at Lourdes (minimum 200 attempts), swinging at a .226 clip. She also ranks seventh with 99 career blocks, needing 12 more to match Genessee Tate (2016-2017) for sixth all-time.  Yasmin Assis begins the year seventh on the assist charts, having handed out 706 career helpers.

A Return to "Normal": After Lourdes played the 2020 season during the spring of 2021 and other WHAC schools splitting the campaign between the fall and spring, the women's volleyball schedule returns to the fall entirely in 2021.  The Gray Wolves have 31 regular season matches on the slate this year, including 12 at home inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.

This and That: Lourdes will play its 350 match in program history on Friday night at Saint Xavier ... the Gray Wolves enter the season 203-146 all-time in program history ... Lourdes is 68-56 in road matches and 41-51 in neutral site contests ... Alli Plasencio enters the opening weekend needing just 24 digs for 1,000 for her career.