BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The No. 8 Lourdes men's volleyball team (12-2, 8-1 in WHAC) swept Olivet Nazarene (5-9, 1-1 in CCAC), 25-23, 25-17, 25-17 on the road on Friday night.

The Gray Wolves have extended their winning streak to eight games and have risen into the top-10 of the NAIA National Rankings at No. 8 in the latest poll.

The sweep over ONU is the third-straight sweep for the Gray Wolves. Lourdes has won 24 out of 26 sets in the eight-game winning streak and remains in 2^nd-place in the WHAC.

1^st Set
The Gray Wolves got off to a solid 12-7 start in the first set. Freshman outside hitter Tsimafei Lesko had five kills in the first 12 points for Lourdes. Lesko finished the first set with seven kills and led the team with 16 kills total in the match. This was the second consecutive match where Lesko led the team with kills.

A six-point run helped Lourdes extend their lead to 20-13 late in the first set. Olivet Nazarene pushed back with a pair of three-point runs of their own to cut the lead one point. A set assist from senior setter Joey Bianco to Lesko finished the set off with a two-point Gray Wolves victory.

2^nd Set
The second set was back-and-forth in the beginning with Lourdes leading 7-6 after the first few rotations. Lourdes then went on a 8-3 run to extend their lead to six.

The Gray Wolves dominated up front at the net with a few blocks in the middle of the set to keep the lead at a six point advantage at 20-14. The Tigers then had a service error and an attack error that kept the momentum and control with Lourdes.

Sophomore outside hitter Felipe Tramontin finished the set victory up with a powerful service ace. Tramontin once again led the team in aces with two in the match.

3^rd Set
Tsimafei Lesko had four blocks in the final frame, giving him a career-high five in the match. Lourdes' defense helped them take control of the third set early and never let go of the lead.

The Tigers started to come back in the middle of the set, diminishing the Lourdes lead to 14-13. However, Lourdes closed out the sweep with separate three-point and five-point runs.

Stats
Lourdes held the advantage over ONU in kills (+6), service aces (+2), blocks (+2), and set assists (+4). ONU had three more digs than Lourdes.

Coach Reitz's Post-Match Comments
"We found our rhythm with our serve and pass early in the match today," Coach Reitz said. "The consistency allowed our offense to be very efficient. We also played some solid defense to give us a few extra swings."

Next Up
Lourdes concludes their three-game Chicagoland road trip on Saturday and then will host Indiana Tech on Tuesday, March 3 at 7pm.