Lourdes closed out its Midwest spring trip on Tuesday evening with a 27-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-21 victory over 14^th-ranked Saint Xavier inside the Shannon Center in Chicago, Ill.
 
"We played well enough to get the win," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "It wasn't our best performance but it was what we needed, when we needed it."
 
Jeff Lam (Richmond, B.C./Hugh McRoberts H.S.) put down 22 kills and hit .357 for the 10^th-ranked Gray Wolves while Eduardo Ayala (Curitiba, Brazil/Colegio Dom Bosco) added 11 kills.  Sawyer Schafer (Monroeville, Ohio/Monroeville H.S.) dished out 40 assists while directing an offense that hit .237 for the night.
 
Trailing 14-11, the Gray Wolves scored five of the next six points to jump in front in the opening set.  The Cougars responded though, retaking the lead.  Lourdes held off a set point at 24-23 though and rallied to take the opening set.
 
In the second, Saint Xavier led wire-to-wire on the way to evening the match.  Lourdes managed just eight kills in the stanza while the Cougars put down 16.
 
The third set saw 11 ties and six lead changes with the set tied at 16.  Lourdes scored nine of the final 12 points to take the lead in the match.  Trailing 10-7 in the fourth, the Gray Wolves six of the next seven points to take the lead on the way to completing the win.
 
Guga Heidrich (Braco do Norte, Brazil/Colegio Unificado) recorded a match-high 13 digs while Harrison McBean (Melbourne, Australia/Northern College of the Arts) recorded four blocks.
 
Grant Ooms led Saint Xavier (18-7) with 17 kills while Kyle Springer had 12 digs.  The Cougars hit .227 for the match.
 
Lourdes (13-4) concludes its five-match road trip on Wednesday, March 16 as the Gray Wolves head to Adrian, Mich. to face Siena Heights.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside the SHU Fieldhouse.