Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: Lourdes University opens its 13th season of men's collegiate volleyball this week at the Chicago Tournament hosted by Saint Xavier and Judson, facing three nationally-ranked foes.  The Gray Wolves will open the season against sixth-ranked Grand View on Thursday before battling 13th-ranked Jamestown on Friday.  The tournament concludes with a match against fifth-ranked The Master's on Saturday.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his 13th season both on the Lourdes bench, and overall coaching men's volleyball, Greg Reitz has a 226-86 (.724) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  He has earned six conference Coach of the Year honors during his first 12 seasons at Lourdes, including the WHAC Coach of the Year honors in 2019.  He is the only head coach in program history.

Series Notes: Grand View holds an 8-3 all-time advantage against the Gray Wolves dating back to March 3, 2012.  The Vikings have won the last three meetings between the two schools, including a four-set win on Jan. 26, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa.  Jamestown won the only previous meeting against Lourdes in four sets on March 5, 2022 in a match played in Des Moines.  The Gray Wolves will be meeting The Master's for the first time ever in men's volleyball on Saturday morning.

Wrapping Up 2023: The Gray Wolves finished the 2023 campaign with a 19-8 record overall, and a 15-3 mark in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, placing second in the final regular season standings.  Lourdes defeated Cornerstone in four sets in the semifinals of the WHAC tournament before falling in the title contest at Indiana Tech, also in four sets.

Scouting Grand View: The Vikings finished the 2023 season with a 20-9 record overall, earning a berth in the NAIA National Championships but did not advance out of pool play.  Grand View returns seven players from last year's squad.  Bayron Valdez led the Vikings with 334 kills on the season while Daniel Wong hit .347.  Valdez also had the most digs of any returning, picking up 104 one year ago while Wong registered a team-high 84 blocks, including 18 of the solo variety.

Scouting Jamestown: The Jimmies went 21-5 in 2023 and advanced to the NAIA National Championships but did not advance out of pool play.  Jamestown returns 10 players from last year's squad.  Caylor Cox has the most kills of any returnee for the Jimmies, tallying 243 last season while hitting .346.  Cox also has the most digs of any returnee with 147.  Tysen Myers registered 42 blocks for Jamestown in 2023.

Scouting The Master's: The Mustangs went 19-5 in 2023, advancing to the semifinals at the NAIA National Championships.  The Master's returns 10 players from one season ago.  Isaac Seltzer had the most kills of any returnee with 189 while Will Avera hit .451 for the Mustangs.  Matthew Hamm handed out a team-high 667 assists.  Defensively, Diego 
Perez picked up 175 digs while Avera had 67 blocks.

Lourdes in Season Openers: The Gray Wolves are 9-3 all-time in their season openers.  The Gray Wolves had their four-match streak of winning openers snapped as Lourdes opened the 2023 season with a four-set loss at Grand View.  Lourdes is 1-1 in season openers that were played at neutral sites.

Facing Ranked Opponents: Battling NAIA ranked opponents is becoming common place for the Gray Wolves as Lourdes opens the year with six straight matches against teams in the preseason top-15.  All eight of the Gray Wolves' non-conference opponents this season are ranked in the preseason poll.  All-time, Lourdes is 42-65 against ranked teams and went 3-6 against the NAIA top-15 in 2023.

Returning Award Winners: Eduardo Ayala was named the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Player of the Year one year ago while also garnering NAIA Second Team All-America accolades.  As a junior, Ayala tallied a team-high 361 kills while hitting .297, and added 27 service aces and 174 digs.  Jaber Badarne and Vinicius Lopes were both Second Team All-WHAC selections in 2023.

Preseason Poll: Lourdes was predicted to finish in second place in the WHAC according to preseason poll conducted of the league's head coaches.  Indiana Tech was picked to repeat as league champs while Mount Vernon Nazarene was tabbed third in the balloting.

This and That: Lourdes has posted winning records in all 12 previous seasons, recording at least 15 victories per year ... Eduardo Ayala enters the season tied for seventh in program history with 649 career kills and is fourth with 68 service aces ... Sawyer Schafer is sixth all-time with 895 career assists and seventh with 49 service aces.