Complete Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: After winning two-of-three on the road last week, 14th-ranked Lourdes returns home for its lone match this week.  The Gray Wolves will entertain Bethel (Ind.) on Tuesday night looking for their third Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference victory of the season.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his 13th season both on the Lourdes bench, and overall coaching men's volleyball, Greg Reitz has a 228-93 (.710) 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: Lourdes won the only two matches the two schools have ever played in a series that began Feb. 7, 2023.  The Gray Wolves were 3-0 victors in that first contest played in Mishawaka, Ind. before downing the Pilots in four sets on March 21, 2023 in last season's second contest held inside the Ebeid Rec Center.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes earned its first win of the season last Tuesday with a 16-25, 26-24, 19-25, 25-18, 15-10 triumph at Goshen.  Eduardo Ayala led the Gray Wolves with 19 kills while Vinicius Lopes and Brayden Moyars each had 14 digs.  On Friday, the Gray Wolves took the first two sets at Lawrence Tech before falling 20-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-11.  Ayala had 18 kills while also picking up a team-high seven digs.  Lourdes closed the week with a 23-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-20 triumph at Siena Heights on Saturday afternoon.  Ayala had 17 kills while Moyars picked up 15 digs.

Scouting Bethel (Ind.): The Pilots have dropped back-to-back matches after a pair of four-set losses at Mount Vernon Nazarene last weekend.  Andre Parra leads Bethel with 92 kills and is hitting .279 this season while Ege Gul has a team-leading 123 assists and 10 service aces.  Defensively, Sebastian Rodriguez has picked up 68 digs while Niko Apostolou has tallied 29 blocks, including five of the solo variety.

Beginning WHAC Play: The Gray Wolves have never lost a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference opener since the league began sponsoring the sport in the 2019 season.  The Gray Wolves improved to 6-0 in conference openers last Tuesday with a five-set victory over Goshen on the road.

Looking for the First Home Win: Lourdes is still winless inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center this season, a place the Gray Wolves have traditionally played well at.  All-time since opening the building, Lourdes has posted a 64-13 record in their home facility.  The most home losses in a season came in 2018 when the Gray Wolves posted a 10-4 mark inside the Ebeid Rec Center.

Ayala Off to Strong Start: Eduardo Ayala has put down a team-leading 137 kills already this season, averaging 4.15 kills per set.  He is hitting .312 on the year and also is third on the squad with 52 digs.  Ayala has registered double figure kill totals in each of his last six matches and eight of the nine this season.  He has hit over .400 in four contests this year, including a season-best .593 at Siena Heights on Saturday.

Freshman Pacing the Defense: Brayden Moyars has taken over the libero jersey in his rookie season and leads the Gray Wolves with 70 digs (2.26/set).  He has tallied double figure dig totals three times this season and picked up a career-high 15 digs on Saturday at Siena Heights.

At the Net: Ben Palma has tallied 10 solo blocks among his 16 total rejections this season.  The former Gray Wolf basketball player joined the team last year after having never played volleyball before.  Palma appeared in one match last season before having seen action in 30 of the 34 sets this year.

Quite a Schedule: Lourdes opened the season with six straight opponents that were ranked 13th or higher in the NAIA top-15 poll at the time of the match.  The Gray Wolves are currently ranked 14th in the latest poll, with the next ranking coming out on Feb. 21.

On the Career Charts: Eduardo Ayala has moved into the top-five in program history with 786 kills since arriving at Lourdes prior to the 2022 season.  He is also third with 74 career service aces as well.  Sawyer Schafer is fifth all-time with 946 career assists and is seventh with 49 aces.  His 465 career digs also rank ninth in program history.

Mixing up the Lineups: Only Vinicius Lopes has appeared in all 34 sets for the Gray Wolves through the first nine matches of the year.  Eduardo Ayala has played in 33 of the 34 stanzas with no other Gray Wolves appearing in more than 31.

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 ... the victory over Goshen snapped a seven-match losing skid dating back to last season, the longest such streak in program history ... Lourdes has registered just 29 service aces this season while committing 120 service errors ... all 18 of Reshawn Allen's rejections have been assisted.