For the second consecutive match Lourdes won the opening two sets, but on Saturday afternoon Saint Xavier rallied to defeat the Gray Wolves 21-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-16, 15-10 inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"This was another tough match for us," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "We did enough to get ahead and then stopped making the same number of plays.  We need to find a way to continue playing the style that has worked for us."
 
Trailing 16-10 in the opening set, Lourdes went on a 12-3 spurt to flip the score on the way to taking an early lead in the match.  After the Gray Wolves raced out to an 8-2 lead in the second, the Cougars battled back to even the set at 10.  Lourdes never allowed Saint Xavier to pull in front though, closing on a 7-2 run to build the 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Lourdes led 14-12 in the third when the Cougars scored four straight points to pull in front for good and used another four-point run late in the stanza to extend the match.  The Gray Wolves never led in the fourth as Saint Xavier (1-5) scoring five of the first six points and built an 18-8 lead in forcing the decisive set.
 
The Cougars scored the first three points of the fifth and despite Lourdes pulling even at four and five, never allowed the hosts to take the lead.  Four straight points when leading 9-8 allowed Saint Xavier the separation it needed.
 
Ella Lewis (Scotts, Mich./Portage Northern H.S.) led Lourdes with 13 kills while Kylee McBride (Peoria, Ariz./Mountain Ridge H.S.) added 10 more along with a team-high 19 digs.  Katey Stakolich (Parma, Ohio/Normandy H.S.) handed out 24 assists, picked up 13 digs, and had four service aces.
 
Arleena Willer (Perrysburg, Ohio/Toledo Christian H.S.) picked up 18 digs while McKenna Hall (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview H.S.) added 14 more.  Meah Przybylski (Oregon, Ohio/Clay H.S.) was involved in five blocks.
 
Courtney Hunter led Saint Xavier with 12 kills and hit .370 while Kaleigh Ritter had 33 assists and 20 digs.
 
"We will get to work to try to figure things out for the start of conference on Wednesday," Reitz concluded.
 
Lourdes (0-2) opens Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play on Wednesday evening with a trip to Ann Arbor, Mich. to battle Concordia (Mich.).  The first serve is set for 7 p.m. inside Cardinal Fieldhouse.