Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: Tuesday Lourdes wraps up a stretch in which the Gray Wolves will have played six of its first matches on the road with a trip to Bethel (Ind.).  The Gray Wolves return home on Friday to begin a stretch in which they will play 10 of their next 12 at home hosting Aquinas.  Lourdes then entertains Cornerstone on Saturday evening.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his 12th season both on the Lourdes bench, and overall coaching men's volleyball, Greg Reitz has a 210-81 (.722) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  He has earned six conference Coach of the Year honors during his first 11 seasons at Lourdes, including the WHAC Coach of the Year honors in 2019.  He is the only head coach in program history.

Series Notes: The Gray Wolves will be meeting Bethel (Ind.) for the first time in men's volleyball on Tuesday evening.  Lourdes is 6-4 all-time against Aquinas dating back to March 1, 2019.  The Saints have won the last two meetings between the two schools, including a four-set victory in the WHAC semifinals last season.  The Gray Wolves hold a 3-1 series edge in matches played inside the Ebeid Rec Center.  Lourdes leads the all-time series against Cornerstone 4-0 dating back to Jan. 29, 2021.  The Gray Wolves have swept the last three meetings between the two teams, including both last season.  Lourdes is 2-0 against the Golden Eagles in the Ebeid Rec Center.

Wrapping Up Last Week: The Gray Wolves opened WHAC play on Tuesday downing Lawrence Tech 10-25, 25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 15-8.  Eduardo Ayala led Lourdes with 20 kills.  Friday the Gray Wolves registered a road sweep at Midway 25-18, 25-22, 25-17.  Ayala had 15 kills and Jaber Badarne added 10.  Saturday Lourdes dropped a neutral site match against No. 8 Menlo 25-21, 25-15, 20-25, 25-19.  Badarne had 11 kills and 10 digs while Sawyer Schafer had 11 digs.  Saturday concluded with a 24-26, 22-25, 25-15, 30-28, 15-12 setback at No. 6 Georgetown (Ky.).  Badarne had 21 kills and Schafer had 14 digs.

Scouting Bethel (Ind.): The Pilots dropped a pair of matches last weekend at home against Mount Vernon Nazarene, one in four sets and the other in three sets.  Arthur Barreto has a team-high 51 kills this season while hitting .225.  Meric Akovali has handed out 127 assists while registering a team-best four service aces.  Defensively, Gerardo Sanchez has 23 digs while Mustafa Yildiz has added 17 blocks, including five of the solo variety.

Scouting Aquinas: The Saints enter the week having dropped two of their last three matches after falling in four sets at Trinity Christian on Saturday.  Aquinas will host Lawrence Tech on Tuesday before visiting Lourdes.  Julian Armendano leads Aquinas with 100 kills this season while Joshua Boothroyd is hitting .257 and also has a team-leading eight service aces.  Leo-Paul Rousseau has handed out a team-high 225 assists.  Defensively, Armendano has a team-high 50 digs while Chase Gil has been involved in 20 blocks.

Scouting Cornerstone: The Golden Eagles enter the week having won four straight matches after defeating Olivet in straight sets and Judson in four sets on Saturday.  Cornerstone hosts Siena Heights on Tuesday and travels to Indiana Tech on Friday prior to visiting Lourdes.  David Galanes has a team-high 79 kills this season while Andrew Galanes is hitting .365.  Patrick Voloch has handed out 275 assists while Cade Meza has a team-best 11 service aces.  On defense, Kyi Jagorin has 88 digs while Ethan Walker has 15 blocks including eight of the solo type.

Remaining Perfect in WHAC Openers: With the victory over Lawrence Tech last week, the Gray Wolves improved to 5-0 all-time in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference openers.   The win improved Lourdes to 34-7 all-time in WHAC play since the conference began sponsoring the sport prior to the 2019 season.

Badarne Has Big Week: Jaber Badarne was a big offensive threat for the Gray Wolves last week.  In four matches, he tallied 48 kills, averaging 3.00 kills per set, while hitting .308.  He had a career-high 21 kills in the final match of the week at Georgetown (Ky.) while hitting .444 at Midway.  He also racked up 10 service aces, including seven at Midway, tying the school's single match mark.

Sharing the Setting Duties: Through six matches, Lourdes has utilized three different setters and they are all separated by four total assists on the year.  Joey Bianco has 78 assists while George Tsogtbaatar has handed out 75.  Cauan Reuter has 74 assists but leads the team averaging 7.40 per set.

Freshmen on the Block: A pair of rookies are leading the way for the Gray Wolves at the net.  Charlie Harr has 17 blocks through the first six matches, including seven solo stuffs.  Reshawn Allen has added 13 rejections of his own.

Moving Up the Career Charts: Early into his second season at Lourdes, Eduardo Ayala has already moved into fifth place on the career service aces list with 53.  Ayala is just nine aces shy of Eric Ubior (2015-2018) for fourth on the all-time charts and needs just 16 aces to move into the top-three all-time in a Gray Wolf uniform.

This and That: Lourdes has posted winning records in all 11 previous seasons, recording at least 15 victories per year ... Reshawn Allen and Eduardo Ayala are the only Gray Wolves to appear in all 24 sets this season ... 17 different players have seen action through the first six contests ... Lourdes has not been swept in a match since March 4, 2022 at Grand View.