SYLVANIA, Ohio – The No.7-ranked Lourdes men's volleyball team (19-4, 13-2 in WHAC) fell to their conference rival, No. 13-ranked Bethel (Ind.) (16-4, 14-0 in WHAC), in a five-set thriller at home on Tuesday night.

The Ebeid Rec Center was absolutely packed, with the student section showing out and bringing the energy all match long.

The match was a rematch of a couple of months ago when Bethel reverse swept Lourdes in another five-set battle. Tuesday's result was an eerily similar loss, but was even closer and more intense.

The loss catapults Bethel into prime position to win the WHAC regular season title and host the conference tournament. The Pilots are a game and a half up on the Gray Wolves now, and have a much easier schedule down the stretch. While it is still mathematically possible for Lourdes to get the No.1 seed, they need Bethel to lose three out of their next four contests.

Indiana Tech is just a game behind Lourdes as the No.3 seed in the WHAC and Lawrence Tech is two games behind as the No.4 seed. Lourdes goes on the road to play Indiana Tech next Tuesday and then ends their season at home against Lawrence Tech on April 11. Therefore, the Gray Wolves still control their own destiny to end up as the No.2 seed in the tournament and receive the coveted first round bye into the semifinals.

On the other hand, Lourdes can't fall below the No.4 seed, so they will at least host a first round tournament matchup if they fall from their current position. With three total games left to play, the season excitement is at an all time high.

1^st Set
The first set in the Bethel matchup was the longest - and likely the loudest – set played in the Ebeid Rec Center this year. The Lourdes crowd was electric from start to finish and gave the Gray Wolves extra motivation down the stretch. Lourdes came out on top, 31-29, in the extended overtime set.  

The set was consistently back-and-forth with no team getting larger than a two-point lead for the entirety of the set. Bethel controlled the pace for the first half of the set, leading 13-11 halfway through. However, Lourdes went on an 8-4 run to take a 19-17 lead off solid serving by Brayden Moyars, Jaber Badarne, and Juan Diego Vargas Mendoza. A crucial kill by Jaber Badarne kept the lead at two as Lourdes ended up taking a 20-18 lead. Badarne once again led the team with 24 kills in the match.

With the set on the verge of ending, Bethel made a last second push with a 6-3 run to take a 24-23 lead, their first led in over 15 points. However, a Ben Palma block and Jaber Badarne service ace gave Lourdes the 25-24 lead and extended the set.
Palma came up huge at the net in the match with three blocks and Badarne had five total service aces to lead the team.

Bethel started off the extra time with back-to-back kills to take a 26-25 lead. Afterwards, the two teams went back-and-forth for seven points straight as Lourdes tied it at 29 apiece on a kill by Badarne. The Arrabe, Israel native then poached another kill to give Lourdes their 30^th point of the set. Jack McMurray finished the set off with a nice serve that led to a Bethel attack error, leading to a thrilling set one victory for Lourdes.

2^nd Set
Seemingly fatigued from the long first set, Lourdes got off to a slower start in the second set. Bethel went on a five-point run after the first 15 points to make it a 12-8 Pilots' lead. The run included four errors by the Gray Wolves' offense. Bethel continued to put the pressure on Lourdes with several more three point runs later in the set as well.

Bethel's serving was strong throughout the set, helping them to end the set on an 11-8 run, and giving them a six-point second set victory.

3^rd Set
The third set was an overall impressive performance by Lourdes' senior setter and floor captain, Joey Bianco. The Cincinnati native tallied 10 set assists and three blocks in the set. He ended the match with 45 assists and a team-high four blocks.

Bianco seemed to come up with the blocks and assists at the most clutch times as well, ending multiple Bethel runs. Besides the blocks and assists, Bianco also had clutch serving as well. With Lourdes down 12-18 in the set, Bianco led a five-point Lourdes run from behind the service line to cut the lead to one.

The Gray Wolves ended the set on an 8-4 run to take the three-point comeback victory. Four-time WHAC Attacker of the Week winner, Jaber Badarne, had three massive kills at the end of the set to secure the 2-1 set lead for Lourdes.   

4^th Set
The fourth set started off extremely even with the teams tied at 11 apiece. However, a combination of several Lourdes service errors and Bethel serving extremely well led to a 13-7 Bethel run. The Pilots took a 23-18 lead heading into the final minutes of the set.

Serving was a big problem for Lourdes all night as the Gray Wolves finished the match with one more ace than Bethel but 12 more service errors. The service error disparity was the highest it has been all season for Lourdes, leading to the Gray Wolves' demise in the fourth set. Christian Woumnga closed the set off with a kill for Bethel as the crucial conference showdown headed to the deciding fifth set.

5^th Set
The fifth and final set started off solid for Lourdes with a 4-5 deficit. Two kills each from Daniel De La Rosa and Jaber Badarne infused tons of energy into the crowd. However, Bethel's Thomas Dunkley excelled the most under the pressure.

Dunkley served a pivotal four-point run for Bethel to extend the Pilots' lead to 9-4 and essentially halt Lourdes' momentum. During the run, Dunkley had two kills, a service ace, and a forced attack error to Jaber Badarne. The run ended when Dunkley faulted, but Bethel responded with three more consecutive points to go up 12-5 on Lourdes.

Bethel continued to put the pressure on Lourdes and led 14-7 down the stretch. Needing eight straight points to keep the match alive, head coach Greg Reitz called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Lourdes looked like they were going to put it all out on the floor. Jack McMurray hit three great attacks that all led to Bethel errors and put Lourdes down just 10-14.

However, McMurray ended the match on a heartbreaking serve that hit the top of the net and barely didn't go over. Bethel ended up taking the match in comeback fashion for the second time this season, 29-31, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 15-10.

Next Up
Despite the loss, Lourdes is still in great position to get the No. 2 seed in the WHAC Tournament, potentially setting up yet another rematch with Bethel in the postseason. As previously mentioned, Lourdes controls their own destiny to get the second bye with going on the road to Indiana Tech on April 7, and then hosting RCU on April 10 and LTU on April 11.