MISHAWAKA, Ind. – The 13^th-ranked Lourdes Men's Volleyball team (22-6, 15-3) fell 1-3 against the 12^th-ranked Indiana Tech Warriors in the WHAC Tournament semifinals on Friday evening.

Lourdes came into the tournament as the No. 3 seed after losing the tiebreaker to No. 2 seed Indiana Tech at the end of the regular season. The Gray Wolves needed to win to make the NAIA National Tournament but feel just short in four sets.

Indiana Tech went on to lose to top-seeded Bethel (IN) in the tournament championship, but made the NAIA National Tournament as the final at-large bid. With 12 teams making the national tournament, Lourdes was pushed out as the first team on the outside looking in, finishing the year in 13^th. William Penn also received an at-large bid, a team that swept Lourdes in the second match of the season.

1^st Set: L, 24-26
Lourdes got off to a blazing start in the first set with a 12-8 opening run that featured solid serving by Felipe Tramontin. The sophomore outside hitter finished the season with the second most service aces on the team with 30.

Despite the hot start, Indiana Tech wouldn't back down and fought to make the score tied at 21 apiece late in the set. The Warriors took their first lead of the set since it was 2-1 after a Felipe Tramontin attack error made it 22-21 in favor of Indiana Tech.

Jack McMurray had a clutch kill a few points later for Lourdes to tie the game back at 24. However, Indiana Tech closed the set one comeback victory off with two points via errors by Lourdes.

2^nd Set: W, 25-18
Lourdes learned from their first set and improved drastically in passing and finishing in the second set. The Gray Wolves posted much cleaner attacks and sustained their set two 11-5 opening lead.

During the opening run, senior outside hitter Jaber Badarne connected with three kills to control the offensive momentum for Lourdes. Badarne once again led the team with 22 kills in the match, helping Lourdes to take set two with ease.

3^rd Set: L, 20-25
Although Badarne was efficient throughout the match, no other Gray Wolves' player had more than 10 kills. This was evident in the third set as Indiana Tech forced many Lourdes errors on players other than Badarne.

Despite the offense stuttering at times, senior setter Joey Bianco kept his poise and distributed the ball well. Bianco ended the match with nearly 10 assists per set and helped Lourdes come back late in the third set.

However, the Indiana Tech offense combated the Lourdes efforts with two three-point runs at the end of the set to take a five-point victory.

4^th Set: L, 21-25
Felipe Tramontin rattled off three straight kills to start the fourth set as Lourdes took an early 4-1 lead. However, the offensive miscues continued as Indiana Tech quickly forced six errors over the next 24 points to take a 16-13 lead.

The Bianco – Badarne connection was firing on all cylinders in the fourth set, allowing Lourdes to get the game to a 14-16 deficit, 16-18 deficit and 18-20 deficit. The streaks proved to not be enough as Lourdes eventually fell by four points in the fourth set to end their season.

Stats
The 2026 Gray Wolves ended the season with the 6^th most matches played, 4^th most wins, and 5^th best attack percentage by a Lourdes men's volleyball program in a single season. The team also tied the 2023 team for the most service aces in a single season, with 163. Despite the unfortunate ending, the 2026 Lourdes men's volleyball team will go down as one of the best statistical teams in program history with record-setting individuals all over the court.