In a battle of NAIA top-15 teams, 14^th-ranked Lourdes to a 2-1 lead over eighth-ranked Menlo on Thursday evening but the Oaks battled back for a 24-26, 25-12, 20-25, 25-20, 15-11 victory to spoil the Gray Wolves' home opener on night one of the Gray Wolf Invitational inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
Both teams were very efficient offensively, with Menlo putting down 60 kills on the night and swinging at a .378 clip while the Gray Wolves hit .314 with 55 kills.  The two teams combined for 40 service errors through (21 Menlo, 19 Lourdes), but the difference was the Oaks tallied 10 aces to Lourdes two.
 
Menlo led most of the opening set and held a 22-20 lead before Lourdes battled back to tie the set at 22, 23, and 24, closing the stanza with the final three points.  In the second, the Oaks committed just one attack error and hit .455, jumping out to an 18-7 lead on the way to evening the match.
 
Lourdes was just as efficient in the third, committing just one error of its own while swinging at a .579 clip.  Menlo answered in the fourth with a .609 hitting set, tallying 15 kills and just one error on only 23 swings.  Over the final four sets, the team that scored the opening point never relinquished their advantage.
 
In the fifth, the Oaks jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead and the Gray Wolves were never able to get closer than two the rest of the way.
 
Vinicius Lopes (Brusque, Brazil/Colegio Osvaldo Carvalho) led Lourdes with 15 kills and hit .464 on the night while Eduardo Ayala (Curitiba, Brazil/Colegio Dom Bosco) came off the bench in the second set and finished the match with 14 kills and a .417 hitting night.  Joey Bianco (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder H.S.) handed out 37 assists running the offense.
 
Defensively, Brayden Moyars (McCordsville, Ind./Cathedral H.S.) picked up a team-high 11 digs while Ben Palma (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne H.S.) was in on two of the team's four blocks.
 
Konrad Stoklosinski led Menlo (3-0) with 21 kills while Gabriel Knittel added 12 more while hitting .688 on the night.  William Lawler handed out 51 assists and picked up a team-high 11 digs.
 
Lourdes (0-4) returns to the court on Friday evening as the Gray Wolves host William Penn.  The first serve is set for 7:30 p.m.