Lourdes Volleyball Notes at Spring Arbor/Aquinas - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Lourdes Volleyball Notes at Spring Arbor/Aquinas

Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: Lourdes takes to the road for a pair of matches this week in the state of Michigan.  On Wednesday night the Gray Wolves will step out of conference play to battle Spring Arbor before traveling to Aquinas on Friday evening for a WHAC tilt.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his third season on the Lourdes bench, Greg Reitz has a 39-53 (.424) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  In his fifth season overall as a women's head coach, Reitz has a 59-88 (.401) career mark.  He is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Lourdes and Spring Arbor are meeting on the volleyball court for the first time ever on Wednesday evening.  Aquinas won the only previous meeting against the Gray Wolves in a match that went five sets on Oct. 7, 2011 in Sylvania, Ohio.  The Saints won the first two sets from Lourdes before the Gray Wolves battled back to force the decisive fifth set, which was won by Aquinas 15-12.

Wrapping Up Last Week: The Gray Wolves returned home to Tam-o-Shanter on Wednesday evening, but dropped a 25-17, 25-19, 25-18 decision to Northwestern Ohio in WHAC play.  Katie McKenty led Lourdes with 10 kills while Shauna Miller handed out 26 assists and registered nine digs.

Scouting Spring Arbor: The Cougars have dropped 15 straight matches after being swept at Huntington last week.  Ashley Morris leads Spring Arbor with 185 kills on the year and is hitting a team-leading .153 while Tenille Marowelli has handed out 440 assists.  Morris is also the team-leader with 212 digs on the year while Kacy Hersha has a team-high 45 blocks.

Scouting Aquinas: The Saints enter the week having fallen in six consecutive matches, including all four in which they played last weekend at the Indiana Wesleyan/Indiana Tech Challenge.  Aquinas plays at Cornerstone on Wednesday before hosting Lourdes on Friday night.  MacKenzie Kolstad and Elle Sturgell lead the Saints with 85 and 81 kills respectively while Nicci Thomas has dished out 239 assists.  Rachel Sprenger has a team-leading 136 digs.

McKenty Fourth  on Lourdes Single Season Charts: Katie McKenty's 266 kills this season currently rank her fourth on the school's single season kills chart.  The freshman is just 19 kills behind Alex Blazevich (2010) for third on the list.  Ali Mass' 372 kills during the inaugural 2010 season are the school record while Brooke Hern had 313 that same season as well to rank second.

Miller Returns to Gray Wolf Lineup: Setter Shauna Miller returned to the court for the first time since Aug. 29 at Siena Heights on Wednesday evening against Northwestern Ohio and handed out 26 assists in the three-set match.  It was Miller's second highest per set average (8.7) this season behind the 11.0 mark she had against Indiana-South Bend when the sophomore had 33 assists in the three sets in which she played.

Double Figure Kills: Katie McKenty tallied 10 kills for the Gray Wolves last Wednesday against Northwestern Ohio, marking her sixth consecutive match with double figures.  The Lourdes freshman has had 10 or more kills in 18 of her 21 collegiate matches this season.

Hitting at a Higher Rate: As a team Lourdes hit .202 in its match against the Racers last Wednesday evening, marking just the fourth time this season the Gray Wolves have hit over .200 as a team.  The Gray Wolves averaged just .111 as a team this year, but hit a team-best .333 in the victory at Ohio State-Marion back on Aug. 22.

An All-Around Team Leader: Michi Jimenez leads Lourdes in three completely different statistical categories.  The freshman has a team-high 388 assists on the year while leading the team with 254 digs as well.  In addition, Jimenez has 17 service aces on the season, three more than any other player.

McKenty Remains Among Nation's Leader in Kills: Katie McKenty ranks 34th in all of NAIA with 266 kills on the season (3.59 kills per set).  Her kills per set mark is 37th best among all players in the nation as well. 

A Schedule Shift Coming Soon: Following this week's matches, Lourdes will finally return home to Tam-o-Shanter for four of its final seven matches during the regular season.  The Gray Wolves will have played just five of their first 23 contests on their home floor, with four of the five coming within a four-day span, which included the Gray Wolf Invitational.

Blocking: Andrea Brown has 58 total blocks this season, more than double the total blocks of any two other players on the roster combined.  Amelia Horton has 29 rejections while Katie McKenty has blocked 26 balls this season for a team that has combined to register 97 total on the year.

Mixing and Matching Lineups: Only four players have appeared in all 21 matches this season for the Gray Wolves.  Andrea Brown and Amelia Horton have played in all 77 sets on the year while Katie McKenty and Michi Jimenez have at least seen action at some point in every single contest this year.

This and That: Amelia Horton needs six more kills for 100 on the season ... Shauna Miller and Ali Mass both have more service aces than service errors this year.