In the final match of the regular season on Saturday evening, Aquinas battled back from two sets to one down to defeat Lourdes 16-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 17-15 inside the Ebeid Rec Center to spoil the Gray Wolves' Senior Night celebration.
 
"This was a close match between two strong teams, battling at the end of the season," head coach Greg Reitz said following the match.  "Unfortunately, we didn't make the few plays we needed to in order to get the win."
 
The Gray Wolves started fast, hitting .393 in the opening set to take the early lead.  Lourdes scored the first three points of the match and never trailed in the set, adding a pair of 4-0 runs to pull away.  Aquinas responded in the second, swinging at a .385 clip themselves.  With the set tied at 13, the Saints scored the next three points and used another late four-point burst to even the match.
 
Lourdes put down 16 kills in the third and never trailed.  With the set tied at 13, Lourdes scored seven of the next eight points to close within a set of victory.  The Saints had other ideas though, and with 11 ties and four lead changes in the fourth, Aquinas hit .440 to force the decisive set.
 
In the fifth, Aquinas scored the first four points before Lourdes battled back to even the set at six.  Again, the Saints made a run, taking an 11-9 lead, only for the Gray Wolves to score the next three points to pull back in front.  Lourdes had two match points that the Saints erased before scoring the final three points of the night.
 
Eduardo Ayala (Curitiba, Brazil/Colegio Dom Bosco) led Lourdes with 27 kills while hitting .300 for the night.  Jeff Lam (Richmond, B.C./Hugh McRoberts H.S.), one of two Gray Wolves playing in their final home match, added a double-double with 16 kills and 17 digs.
 
Sawyer Schafer (Monroeville, Ohio/Monroeville H.S.) dished out 50 assists while defensively, senior Guga Heidrich (Braco do Norte, Brazil/Colegio Unificado) closed his home career with 16 digs.
 
Julian Armendano led Aquinas (20-6, 10-4 WHAC) with 21 kills while Matthew Richmond had 45 assists.  The Saints hit .271 on the night while Lourdes swung at a .216 clip.
 
Lourdes (15-6, 10-4) will head to next weekend's Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Wayne, Ind.  The league will announce official pairings later this weekend.