Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: Lourdes University, ranked fifth in the preseason NAIA Coaches' Top-15 poll, opens its 11th season of men's collegiate volleyball this week at the NAIA/NCAA Crossover hosted by Campbellsville.  The Gray Wolves will face the 14th-ranked, and host, Tigers in the opener on Thursday before facing Limestone on Friday.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his 11th season both on the Lourdes bench, and overall coaching men's volleyball, Greg Reitz has a 192-71 (.730) 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 won the only previous meeting against Campbellsville in four sets on March 30, 2019 inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.  The Gray Wolves have split a pair of meetings against Limestone in a series that began March 6, 2013.  Lourdes won the first meeting in four sets before falling in the most recent contest between the two schools on March 13, 2019 in a five-setter.  Both previous matches were played in Gaffney, S.C.

Wrapping Up 2021: The Gray Wolves finished the 2021 campaign with a 15-3 record overall, and a 10-2 mark in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, sharing the league's regular season title before winning the conference tournament crown.  Lourdes earned a berth to the NAIA National Championships, posting a 1-1 record in pool play.  

Scouting Campbellsville: The Tigers went 26-5 overall and 14-1 in the Mid-South Conference in 2021 on the way to winning the league's regular season and tournament titles.  Campbellsville advanced to the NAIA National Championships, going 0-2 in pool play.  Campbellsville returns eight players from last year's squad.  Ho Yin Leung is the team's leading returning hitter with 176 kills in 2021 while Ryan Smith handed out 482 assists one year ago.  Jay Montalvo led the Tigers with 340 digs.

Scouting Limestone: The Saints are coming off a 12-11 record in 2021 and a 3-3 mark in the Independent Volleyball Association.  Limestone has six returnees from last year's squad.  Geraldo Rivera led the team with 223 kills one season ago while Matt Anetrella had 120 digs, the most of any returnee for Limestone.  Spencer Saint-Eloi registered 44 blocks and a team-high 24 service aces.

Lourdes in Season Openers: The Gray Wolves are 8-2 all-time in their season openers and have won three straight.  Lourdes opened the 2021 season with a 3-2 victory over Queens (N.C.).  Lourdes is 4-0 in season openers that were true road matches, most recently defeating Goshen to begin the 2019 campaign.

Facing Ranked Opponents: Battling NAIA ranked opponents is becoming common place for the Gray Wolves as Lourdes opens the year with 14th-ranked Campbellsville.  All-time, Lourdes is 37-55 against ranked foes but went 6-2 against the NAIA top-15 in 2021.

All-American Returns: Jeff Lam became a three-time NAIA All-American after earning First Team honors for the second time in his career in 2021.  The fifth-year senior this season led the Gray Wolves with 279 kills (4.81/set) while hitting .318.  He also had 48 service aces and 144 digs (2.48/set).

More Returning Award Winners: Jeff Lam also garnered Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Player of the Year accolades in addition to First Team All-WHAC honors one year ago.  Guga Heidrich and Harrison McBean represented the Gray Wolves as Second Team All-WHAC honorees.

Earliest Start Ever: When Lourdes opens the season on Thursday, Jan. 13, it will mark the earliest start to a volleyball season in program history.  The previous earliest start for the Gray Wolves was Jan. 17 to begin the 2012, 2014, and 2020 slates.  

Nearing the School Record: Jeff Lam enters the season second in program history with 1,025 career kills.  He is just 154 kills shy of the school record holder, Evan Gebert (2017-2020), who tallied 1,179 during his four years at Lourdes.

Lam Holds Aces Mark: Jeff Lam enters 2022 already the school record-holder with 124 career aces.  The fifth-year senior has 37 more than Evan Gebert (2017-2020), who ranks second on the Gray Wolves' all-time list.

Learning a New Position: Sawyer Schafer takes over as the Gray Wolves' setter entering 2022.  An outside hitter the previous two years, he has just seven career assists in a Lourdes uniform.

New Faces: Lourdes has added seven new players to its roster for the upcoming season.  Elijah Fleming, Max Baumann, George Tsogtbaatar, and Gabriel Vianna are all freshmen while Mitch Hoffman and Eduardo Ayala are transfers.  Darius Passley-Bennett has joined the Gray Wolf volleyball program after playing soccer for the Gray Wolves the past three seasons.

This and That: Lourdes has posted winning records in all 10 previous seasons, recording at least 15 victories per year ... the Gray Wolves enter 2021 having won 14 consecutive home matches inside the Ebeid Rec Center ... Lourdes is 47-6 all-time on its home floor ... the Gray Wolves are 66-24 all-time in true road matches and 46-32 on neutral floors.