Tenth-ranked Lourdes took the opening set on Friday evening, but Aquinas rallied to post a 25-27, 25-22, 26-24, 25-22 victory over the Gray Wolves in the semifinals of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament held inside the Schaefer Center in Fort Wayne, Ind.
 
"We didn't play our best tonight and Aquinas played close to theirs," head coach Greg Reitz said after the match.
 
The second-seeded Gray Wolves started strong, hitting .400 in the opening set while putting down 17 kills.  Neither team led by more than three points in the set, which had 13 ties in it.
 
Lourdes led 10-5 early in the second and maintained its five-point advantage at 19-14 before the Saints rallied.  Aquinas scored seven of the next nine points to pull even at 21 before continuing the run to close out the set with four of the final five points to even the match.
 
The Gray Wolves jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third and maintained the advantage late, leading 24-21.  Aquinas fought of three set points of Lourdes and scored the final five points to rally and win the frame.
 
With set four tied at 17, the third-seeded Saints scored six straight points to take control.  Lourdes (15-7) tried to battle back, but a late 4-0 spurt came up short.
 
Jeff Lam (Richmond, B.C./Hugh McRoberts H.S.) hit .364 with a team-leading 19 kills to pace the Gray Wolf offense while Eduardo Ayala (Curitiba, Brazil/Colegio Dom Bosco) added 13 kills.  Harrison McBean (Melbourne, Australia/Northern College of the Arts) hit .600 with 10 kills.
 
Sawyer Schafer (Monroeville, Ohio/Monroeville H.S.) ran the Lourdes offense that hit .239 on the night, dishing out 43 assists while adding 13 digs for a double-double.  Guga Heidrich (Braco do Norte, Brazil/Colegio Unificado) paced the Gray Wolf defense with 14 digs.  McBean also had six blocks to lead the way at the net.
 
Julian Armendano led Aquinas (21-6) with 20 kills and 13 digs while Daniel De La Rosa hit .556 with 12 kills.  The Saints hit .281 on the night.