Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: Postseason play begins for Lourdes this weekend as the Gray Wolves travel to Fort Wayne, Ind. for the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament.  The 13th-ranked, and second-seeded Gray Wolves, face sixth-seeded Cornerstone in Friday's semifinal, with the championship match slated for Saturday afternoon.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his 12th season both on the Lourdes bench, and overall coaching men's volleyball, Greg Reitz has a 225-85 (.726) 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: Lourdes leads the all-time series against Cornerstone 6-0 dating back to Jan. 29, 2021.  The Gray Wolves swept the Golden Eagles this season, winning in straight sets at home on Feb. 11 before scoring a five-set triumph in Grand Rapids, Mich. on March 11.  This will be the two schools first neutral site meeting.  The Gray Wolves and Indiana Tech have split six previous meetings 4-4 in a series that began Jan. 25, 2020.  Lourdes was a four-set winner in Fort Wayne, Ind. last Friday before the Warriors notched a five-set win in the Ebeid Rec Center on Saturday.  The series is tied 2-2 in Fort Wayne.  The Gray Wolves are 16-1 all-time against Lawrence Tech dating back to Jan. 20, 2016.  Lourdes was a five-set winner at home on Jan. 31 before falling in four sets in Southfield, Mich. on March 17.  This would be their first neutral site meeting.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes notched a 25-19, 24-26, 25-22, 25-20 win over Bethel (Ind.) on Tuesday behind 16 kills from Jaber Badarne.  On Friday, the Gray Wolves defeated 12th-ranked Indiana Tech on the road 20-25, 26-24, 25-22, 25-23 as Eduardo Ayala put down 23 kills and had 12 digs.  In the rematch on Saturday in the Ebeid Rec Center, the Warriors earned a 21-25, 27-29, 25-21, 25-15, 15-11 win over Lourdes.  Ayala had 22 more kills and 13 digs in the loss.

Scouting Cornerstone: The Golden Eagles enter the semifinals having won two straight after defeating third-seeded Mount Vernon Nazarene in four sets on the road in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.  David Galanes has a team-high 422 kills this season while hitting .286.  Galanes also leads the team with 28 service aces.  Patrick Voloch has handed out 1,209 assists.  Defensively, Kyi Jagorin has a team-high 402 digs while Joshua Beaumont has tallied 82 blocks.

Scouting Indiana Tech: The Warriors enter the tournament having defeated Lourdes in five sets last Saturday to claim the WHAC regular season title.  Daynte Stewart leads Indiana Tech with 245 kills and 17 service aces this season while Raekwon Rogers is swinging at a .289 clip.  Brandon Jones has handed out 660 assists.  On defense, Joey Hermes has 273 digs while Rogers has 86 total blocks.

Scouting Lawrence Tech: The Blue Devils enter the semifinals having defeated fourth-seeded Aquinas on the road in four sets on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.  Jeffry Fuhrmann leads Lawrence Tech with 364 kills and 32 service aces while JT McCarthy is hitting at a .375 clip.  Simon Phillip has handed out 973 assists.  Defensively, Gustavo Heidrich has tallied 399 digs while Akram Askoul has registered 92 blocks, including 27 of the solo variety.

Lourdes in the WHAC Tournament: Lourdes is 4-1 all-time in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament.  The Gray Wolves captured the tournament title in both 2019 and 2021.  Last season, Lourdes fell in four sets to Aquinas in the semifinals.  The 2020 tournament was not played due to COVID-19.

Breaking into the Top-10: Eduardo Ayala has moved into ninth place on Lourdes career kills chart, terminating 612 balls in his two seasons with the Gray Wolves.  He is seven kills behind Brendan Brown (2016-2019) for eighth on the all-time list and 37 kills in back of Garrett Jones (2013-2016) for seventh.

On the All-Time Assist List: Sawyer Schafer is sixth in program history with 895 career assists, 33 shy of Pierce Stewart (2012) for a spot in the top-five.  In just his first season, George Tsogtbaatar is already ninth in program history with 520 helpers, needing just 13 more to move into eighth place, matching Oliver Cizmazia's (2013) total.  Joey Bianco ranks 10th all-time with 344 assists.

Moving Up the Ace Charts: Eduardo Ayala has moved into fourth place on the career service aces list with 66.  Ayala is just three aces shy of Jo'Lon Clark (2014-2015) for third on the all-time charts.  Sawyer Schafer is seventh in program history with 49 aces.  He needs one more to match CJ Rilveria's (2014-2017) sixth place mark of 50 aces.

Facing Ranked Foes: Lourdes has already played eight matches against NAIA top-15 opponents this season, posting a 3-5 record in such matches.  The Gray Wolves could have a chance to play a ninth ranked foe should they meet 12th-ranked Indiana Tech in the championship. 

This and That: Not one Gray Wolf has appeared in all 97 sets this season with Jaber Badarne leading the way with 95 sets played ... Lourdes has now won at least 15 matches and has finished over .500 in all 12 seasons in program history ... the Gray Wolves are 16-0 this season when hitting a higher percentage than their opponents ... Lourdes is 1-1 in neutral site matches and 7-5 in true road contests this year.