The Gray Wolves' men's volleyball team has finished fourth in the WHAC's Preseason Coaches Poll with 75 total votes.

Lourdes placed higher than Cornerstone, Aquinas, Goshen, Mount Vernon Nazarene, Rochester Christian, and their first WHAC opponent of the 2026 season, Defiance.

This year's group features a roster of experienced players. 12 out of the 14 Gray Wolves are returning from last year's team that finished 17-10 (11-5 in WHAC) and runners-up in the WHAC tournament.
Some Gray Wolves to look out for this season include the senior trio of setter Joey Bianco, middle blocker Ben Palma and outside hitter Jaber Badarne. The group started the three most amount of games on the team last year as juniors.

Badarne led the team with 330 kills and 43 service aces last season. Palma led the team with 65 blocks. He was also fourth on the team in kills with 87 and attack percentage at .306. Bianco led the team with 728 assists.

Defensively, junior libero Brayden Moyars led the team with 325 digs last season. He also had a solid .951 reception percentage.

The team's experience runs through the longest tenured head coach at Lourdes, Greg Reitz, who is entering his 15^th season at the helm of the Gray Wolves' men's volleyball program. Assistant Coach Allison Plasencio is entering her second season on staff after an illustrious defensive career for the Lourdes women's volleyball team that included three All-WHAC selections.  

The Gray Wolves start their season in the Ebeid Rec Center on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7pm against Hope International. The game is part of a weekend long tournament hosted by Lourdes called the Gray Wolf Invitational. In addition to Thursday's game, Lourdes will take on William Penn at 6pm on Friday, Georgetown College at 10am on Saturday, and Life College at 3pm on Saturday.