Playing its third road match in four days, Lourdes suffered a 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 defeat to Madonna on Saturday afternoon inside the Alliance Catholic Credit Union Arena in Livonia, Mich.
 
"We struggled to get into a rhythm today and that isn't going to get the job done against a quality opponent," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "We will look to fix some of our weaknesses to prepare for our next match."
 
The Crusaders limited Lourdes to a .043 hitting percentage as Macey Zinser (Bucyrus, Ohio/Wynford H.S.) led the Gray Wolves with eight kills on the day.  McKenna Hall (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview H.S.) added seven kills while picking up 11 digs.  Arleena Willer (Perrysburg, Ohio/Toledo Christian H.S.) tallied a team-high 16 digs.
 
A 12-2 Madonna run allowed the hosts to build a 19-8 lead in the opening set, and the Crusaders never trailed in the stanza.  An 8-1 Crusader run early in the second gave Madonna a 12-5 edge on the way to winning set two.  In the third, Lourdes led 22-20 only to see the Crusaders close the match with the final five points.
 
Jaeda Porter led Madonna (9-5, 5-1 WHAC) with seven kills and hit .412 while adding five blocks.
 
Lourdes (2-10, 2-5) returns home on Wednesday evening to host Lawrence Tech.  The opening serve is set for 7 p.m. inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.