Rio Grande Tops Lourdes in Friday Night Volleyball - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Rio Grande Tops Lourdes in Friday Night Volleyball

Lourdes University began a three-match weekend in Rio Grande, Ohio, dropping a 25-14, 28-26, 25-14 match to host Rio Grande on Friday evening at Newt Oliver Arena.

The Gray Wolves struggled offensively on the evening, hitting -.026 on the night.  Katie McKenty (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame H.S.) led Lourdes with 15 of the team's 27 kills on the evening while Michi Jimenez (Vega Baja, P.R./Juan Quirindongo Morell H.S.) tallied 18 digs and handed out 17 assists.

"We made way too many errors tonight and didn't really give ourselves a chance," head coach Greg Reitz stated.  "You have to give them credit though, they played a great match."

The opening set was tied at 10 before the Red Storm ran off 10 straight points to take the early lead.

In set two, Lourdes faced a slew of set points, trailing 24-17, only to score eight straight points off of the serve of Chelsea Haas (Holland, Ohio/Springfield H.S.) and earn a set point.  In the end, though, it was Rio Grande pulling out the win in extra points.

The hosts held a slim 13-9 lead in set three before a 7-0 run secured the victory.

Rio Grande (1-1) hit .409 for the match, led by Whitney Smith's 11 kills.

Lourdes (4-7) will look to bounce back on Saturday morning with a pair of matches.  The Gray Wolves face Cincinnati Christian at 9 a.m. before battling Union (Ky.) in an 11 a.m. contest.