The 11^th-ranked Lourdes men's volleyball team (7-2, 4-1 in WHAC) swept Aquinas (2-7, 1-3 in WHAC) 25 to 19, 25 to 19, and 25 to 12 on Friday night in the Ebeid Rec Center.

The Gray Wolves now have six sweeps in their seven victories and are only behind undefeated Bethel and Indiana Tech in the conference standings. Lourdes is tied with 6^th-ranked Lawrence Tech for the best overall record in the WHAC at 7-2.

Meanwhile, the Saints fall to 7^th-place in the conference after losing their third-straight match. Their schedule doesn't get any easier with back-to-back matches with Bethel and Indiana Tech next up.

1^st Set
Lourdes got off to a 6 to 3 start to the match with a kill by senior outside hitter Jaber Badarne and five Aquinas attack errors. The Saints had a negative attack percentage in the first set.

Aquinas and Lourdes traded three-point runs giving the Gray Wolves a 9 to 6 lead. Back-to-back Jayden Sturdevant kills for Aquinas cut the lead to a single point. The game was starting to feel like it would continue to go back and forth before freshman phenom Tsimafei Lesko stepped up to the service line.

The Minsk, Belarus native contributed seven points in a row for Lourdes, giving them a 16 to 8 lead and eventually helping to seal the set one victory for the Gray Wolves. Lesko had three aces during his run at the service line and a career-high four in the match.

2^nd Set
The second set started much like the first, with both teams trading points to make the score knotted up at five apiece. Badarne had a couple of service aces and kills to push the lead to 11 to 7. Badarne finished the game with four service aces and led he team with 18 kills. His kills per set on the season jumped up to 5.22, giving him one of the highest marks in the nation. He also has 120 kills on the year.

Both teams traded points again to make it a 16 to 13 Lourdes lead. The Gray Wolves closed the set on a 9 to 6 run to take the second set again by the score of 25 to 19.

Sophomore setter Evaristo Lopez Valeros also made his first appearance of the season in the second set, contributing a few set assists. The Tucuman, Argentina native ended the match with 12 set assists, his 3^rd-most in a match in his Lourdes career. He spoke post-match on the team's execution and his preparation to be ready for the big moment.

"We used this week to get better, and we know we can do big things," Lopez Valeros said. "In the rankings, we are 11^th and we believe we can go even further. My teammates gave me the trust I needed (to succeed), and I really appreciated it."

3^rd Set
The third set was the best start to a set all night with Lourdes going on an 11 to 4 run. The Terracotta and Gray went on a separate six-point run later in the set to ice the win. Lourdes' defense limited Aquinas to just six kills in the set and helped them win the set 25 to 12.

Stats
Lourdes had 13 more kills than Aquinas, five more aces and 11 more set assists. The Saints led the dig and block battle by one each.

Next Up
Lourdes finishes their three-match homestand against Cornerstone tomorrow at 2pm. The Gray Wolves will try to increase their winning streak to four games.