Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball:  After a pair of road matches last weekend, Lourdes begins a stretch in which the Gray Wolves will play four of their next five matches at home.  The 10th-ranked Gray Wolves entertain 13th-ranked Georgetown (Ky.) in non-conference action on Friday evening before heading to Lawrence Tech for a league battle on Saturday night.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his 11th season both on the Lourdes bench, and overall coaching men's volleyball, Greg Reitz has a 198-73 (.731) 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 and Georgetown are meeting on the volleyball court for the first time ever in men's action on Friday evening.  The Gray Wolves are 13-0 all-time against Lawrence Tech in a series that dates back to Jan. 20, 2016.  Lourdes has won 39 of the 40 all-time sets played between the two schools and has registered sweeps in each of the last three meetings.  Lourdes is 5-0 all-time against the Blue Devils in Southfield, Mich.

Wrapping Up Last Week: The Gray Wolves fell in straight sets on Wednesday (Feb. 9) at home against seventh-ranked Indiana Tech 26-24, 25-22, 29-27.  Jeff Lam had 22 kills and 12 digs while hitting .487 in the setback.  On Friday (Feb. 11), Lourdes notched a 25-19, 27-25, 28-26 road sweep at Cornerstone.  Lam put down 24 kills and hit .467 while Guga Heidrich recorded 15 digs.  On Saturday morning (Feb. 12), the Gray Wolves concluded the road trip with a 25-23, 25-17, 19-25, 29-27 victory at Aquinas.  Lam had 23 kills and 15 digs while hitting .452 on the day.

Scouting Georgetown (Ky.): The Tigers have won two straight matches after a sweep of Truett-McConnell on Saturday (Feb. 12) afternoon.  Liam Morrissey has tallied a team-high 52 kills while hitting .488.  Finn Heinemann has handed out 103 assists and recorded 15 service aces.  CJ Bride has tallied 60 digs for Georgetown this season while Tyree Wesley has recorded 17 blocks.

Scouting Cornerstone: The Blue Devils snapped a three-game losing skid on Tuesday (Feb. 15) with a four-set triumph at home against Adrian.  Felix Perex has a team-leading 148 kills and 18 service aces while Jeffry Fuhrmann and JT McCarthy are both hitting .316.  Simon Phillip has handed out 416 assists.  Defensively, Collin Holt has 140 digs while Connor Cooper has notched 41 blocks.

Lam Earns Honors After Big Week: Jeff Lam was named both the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference and NAIA National Attacker of the Week for his efforts last week.  Lam hit .468 over the three contests, with 69 total kills, an average of 6.90 kills per set.  He also added 30 digs (3.00/set) and five blocks (0.50/set) while registering seven service aces (0.70/set).

Serving Up Aces: The Gray Wolves have tallied 63 aces through the first eight matches of the season, led by 18 from Jeff Lam and 15 from Eduardo Ayala.  Lourdes ranks third in the NAIA as a team averaging 2.33 aces per set this season.

More National Rankings: Lourdes is fourth as a team among all NAIA schools this season tallying 11.30 digs per set.  Guga Heidrich leads the way with 84 digs (3.11/set) while Eduardo Ayala has added 68 of his own (2.52/set).  Offensively, the Gray Wolves rank sixth nationally putting down 12.44 kills per stanza.  Jeff Lam paces the offense with 147 kills this year.

Lam Ranks Second Nationally: Jeff Lam is second among all NAIA players thus far this year offensively.  He ranks second both in kills per set (5.44) as well as hitting percentage (.381).  

Handling the New Role Well: Sawyer Schaefer moved into the setting role prior to the start of the season and has proficient leading the Gray Wolf offense this year.  He is averaging 10.15 assists per set while guiding an offense that is hitting .256 as a team.

Nearing the School Record: Jeff Lam ranks second in program history with 1,172 career kills.  He is just seven kills shy of the school record holder, Evan Gebert (2017-2020), who tallied 1,179 during his four years at Lourdes.

Nearing 200: Lourdes, and head coach Greg Reitz are nearing the 200-win plateau.  Reitz, the lone head coach in program  history, has guided the Gray Wolves to 198 victories entering the week.  Reitz also has 200 career victories on the women's side.

Bonus Volleyball: Lourdes has had at least one set extend beyond 25 points in each of its last four matches.  The longest set played thus far this year was a 31-29 setback in the third stanza at Goshen on Feb. 5.

Lam Holds Aces Mark: Jeff Lam set the school record for career aces last season and continues to add to his total.  He enters the week with 142 career aces.  The fifth-year senior has 55 more than Evan Gebert (2017-2020), who ranks second on the Gray Wolves' all-time list.

This and That: The Gray Wolves have yielded just 27 service aces (1.00/set) thus far this season defensively ... Harrison McBean and Elijah Fleming have both been involved in 15 blocks this year ... Darius Passley-Bennett has seen action in four matches this year after just learning the game and moving over from playing on the men's soccer team.