Ninth-ranked Lourdes needed five sets to rally on Friday evening, but the Gray Wolves defeated 12^th-ranked Saint Xavier 17-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13 in a battle of NAIA ranked teams inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
With the win, the Gray Wolves improve to 20-0 all-time against the Cougars.
 
"This was a good team win," head coach Greg Reitz said after the match.  "We had to rely on a lot of depth.  We played really well with our backs against the wall and made a lot of plays when we needed them."
 
Jaber Badarne (Arrabe, Israel/Hof Hasharon) put down 22 kills and Eduardo Ayala (Curitiba, Brazil/Colegio Dom Bosco) added 21 more as George Tsogtbaatar (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling H.S.) handed out 49 assists.  Lourdes hit just .133 on the night though as the Cougars registered 19 blocks in the match.
 
With Lourdes leading 9-8 in the opening set, Saint Xavier took control with a 13-2 run.  The Cougars tallied seven blocks in the stanza, holding the Gray Wolves to -.061 hitting.  Set two was tight throughout, with 13 ties.  Trailing 19-17, Lourdes scored four consecutive points to take the lead for good.
 
In the third, the Cougars never trailed, jumping out to a 4-1 lead.  Lourdes kept the set close, pulling within one, 23-22, late, before the visitors closed out the set to take a 2-1 lead in the match.  Four straight points with the fourth stanza tied at 19 allowed the Gray Wolves to even the match, forcing the decisive set.
 
In the fifth, Saint Xavier built a quick 8-4 lead before the Gray Wolves rallied.  Trailing 11-7, Lourdes cut the deficit to two, but still trailed 13-11 before scoring the final four points of the match to closeout the comeback.
 
Sawyer Schafer (Monroeville, Ohio/Monroeville H.S.) tallied 13 digs while Tsogtbaatar added 10 more to lead the defense.  Tsogtbaatar also had all three of the Gray Wolves' service aces in the match.
 
Oskar Krzyzak led Saint Xavier (7-2) with 24 kills and 11 digs while hitting .312.  Jake McClain was in on nine of the team's blocks.
 
Lourdes (7-4) remains home on Tuesday evening as the Gray Wolves host Mount Vernon Nazarene.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside the Ebeid Rec Center.