Lourdes jumped out to a two-set lead against 13^th-ranked Cornerstone on Saturday afternoon, only to hold off the Golden Eagles 25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 23-25, 15-10 inside Mol Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.
 
"This was a good win with us battling on the road," head coach Greg Reitz said afterwards.  "We took care of our side of the net in the first two sets, but then stopped.  We were able to overcome the lull with perseverance to win the fifth."
 
Lourdes continued its hot hitting from Friday night at Aquinas in Saturday's opening set, swinging at a .360 clip.  With the set tied at 14, the Gray Wolves scored the next seven points behind the service of Ben Palma (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne H.S.), including back-to-back aces to pull away and take the early lead in the match.
 
Set two was similar to the first.  The Gray Wolves and Golden Eagles were tied at 15 when Lourdes went on another 7-0 spurt, this time behind the service of Brayden Moyars (McCordsville, Ind./Cathderal H.S.) to open up a 2-0 advantage in the match.  This time Lourdes hit .417 in the stanza, hammering down 14 kills.
 
In the third, it was Cornerstone that hit .455 to extend the match.  The Golden Eagles took a 15-11 lead only for Lourdes to pull even with the next four points.  The Gray Wolves then pulled in front, holding a 22-21 advantage before Cornerstone scored four of the next five points to claim the set.
 
The Gray Wolves built a 16-12 lead in set four, looking to close out the match before Cornerstone rallied.  Four straight points by the Golden Eagles evened the frame before the hosts pulled in front 19-18.  The lead went back-and-forth down the stretch before Cornerstone forced the deciding set.  The Golden Eagles put down 17 kills and hit .538 in the stanza.
 
In the fifth, Lourdes fell behind 7-4 before coming from behind to score 11 of the final 14 points to claim the match. 
 
Eduardo Ayala (Curitiba, Brazil/Colegio Dom Bosco) led Lourdes with 32 kills and hit .453 while Vinicius Lopes (Brusque, Brazil/Colegio Osvaldo Carvalho) and Tomas Olak (Rowville, Australia/Mazenod College each had 10 kills.  Joey Bianco (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder H.S.) handed out 55 assists while running an offense that hit .372 on the afternoon.
 
Ernest Broaster led Cornerstone (10-2, 6-2 WHAC) with 32 kills and hit .607 while Patrick Voloch handed out 55 assists, directing an offense that hit .336 for the day.
 
Lourdes (6-7, 6-1), winners of five straight, will now have 10 days off before returning to the court on March 12 in Mount Vernon, Ohio.  The Gray Wolves will face Mount Vernon Nazarene beginning at 7 p.m. inside Ariel Arena.