Lourdes closed out play at its own Gray Wolf Invitational on Saturday inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center, falling in a pair of matches.  The Gray Wolves dropped their opener 25-21, 26-24, 25-18 to Saint Xavier before losing the final match of the weekend 25-17, 25-15, 25-16 against Mount Vernon Nazarene.
 
Saint Xavier (3-0) put down 48 kills in the three-set win against the Gray Wolves in the opener.
 
"Our serve and pass was not as strong as it needed to be against a team playing well," head coach Greg Reitz said after the first match.  "It made it hard for us to score points."
 
Lourdes maintained a 13-12 lead in the opening set when the Cougars scored four straight points, their longest run of the set.  Saint Xavier gradually pulled away down the stretch to win the first set.  The Gray Wolves rallied from a 21-15 deficit to earn a set point up 24-23 in set two, but the Cougars responded with three straight points to earn the win.
 
In the third, Lourdes led 12-9 when Saint Xavier closed the match on a 16-6 run, including stretches of four and six straight points.
 
McKenna Hall (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview H.S.) led Lourdes with nine kills and 11 digs as the Gray Wolve hit just .139 for the match.  Katey Stakolich (Parma, Ohio/Normandy H.S.) had 14 assists while Alexis Walker (Lakeland, Fla./Lake Gibson H.S.) added 12 more.
 
Defensively, Cammy Smith (Mansfield, Ohio/Ontario H.S.) had four blocks while Alli Plasencio (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) had a match-high 22 digs.
 
Molly Hackett led Saint Xavier with 12 kills while Avanna Martinez had 14 digs.
 
In the second contest, Mount Vernon Nazarene (6-0) registered 10 service aces and hit .269 in the three-set sweep.
 
"Mount Vernon Nazarene played really well," Reitz added.  "They beat us in the serve and pass which allowed them to run their offense much more efficiently."
 
The Cougars raced out to an 11-3 lead in the opening set, hitting .407, to take the early lead in the match.  Set two was tied at 13 before the visitors scored the next eight points to seize control and Mount Vernon Nazarene never trailed in the third, taking a quick 7-1 lead.
 
Hall paced the Gray Wolves with 12 kills and hit .367 while Stakolich handed out .25 assists for an offense that hit just .086 in the match.
 
Plasencio registered 19 digs and now has moved into second place all-time at Lourdes with 1,644 during her career.  Chelsie Raabe (Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon H.S.) was in on three blocks for the Gray Wolves.
 
Erica Gasser led Mount Vernon Nazarene with 12 kills and hit .409 while Molly Galaszewski had 13 digs.
 
Lourdes (2-2) returns to the court on Friday evening as the Gray Wolves travel to Richmond, Ind. to face Indiana East.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Lingle Court.