WVB: Lourdes Notes vs. Marygrove/at Lawrence Tech - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

WVB: Lourdes Notes vs. Marygrove/at Lawrence Tech

Upcoming in Gray Wolves Volleyball: Lourdes University has reached the midway point of Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play and will return to the court this week for a pair of league contests.  The Gray Wolves will host Marygrove on Wednesday evening at Tam-o-Shanter before traveling to Lawrence Tech on Friday for a contest against the Blue Devils.

Head Coach Greg Reitz: In his third season on the Lourdes bench, Greg Reitz has a 40-54 (.426) record at the helm of the Gray Wolves.  In his fifth season overall as a women's head coach, Reitz has a 60-89 (.403) career mark.  He is the only head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Lourdes and Marygrove are meeting for the eighth time in the short history of Gray Wolves' volleyball.  Lourdes is 7-0 all-time against the Mustangs.  The Gray Wolves won all five meetings between the two schools in 2010, and posted a pair of 3-1 victories over Marygrove last season.  Lourdes is 5-0 all-time against Lawrence Tech in a series that dates back to last season.  The Gray Wolves have already downed the Blue Devils twice this season, both by 3-1 scores.  The first meeting came on Aug. 17 at the Concordia (Mich.) Kickoff Tournament, with the second contest taking place on Sept. 14 as part of the Gray Wolf Invitational.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Lourdes dropped the opening set last Wednesday evening at Spring Arbor before rallying for a 22-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-20 win in non-conference action.  The Gray Wolves returned to conference action on Friday evening, traveling to Aquinas, only to suffer a 25-11, 25-19, 25-18 setback against the Saints.  The match at Aquinas wrapped up a stretch of four out of five matches on the road for Lourdes.

Scouting Marygrove: The Mustangs snapped a four-match losing skid last Wednesday with a three-set victory over Great Lakes Christian before dropping a WHAC match at Cornerstone on Saturday afternoon.  Marygrove plays Kuyper and Grace Bible on Tuesday night before heading to Lourdes.  Katharina Hall leads Marygrove with 142 kills while Shana Tooley has tallied a team-high 227 digs this year.

Scouting Lawrence Tech: The Blue Devils have dropped four straight matches after falling at Siena Heights on Friday, and will head to Northwestern Ohio on Wednesday before hosting Lourdes.  Kasey Clark leads Lawrence Tech with 207 kills on the year and is hitting .236 while Darby Johnson has a team-leading 246 digs.

McKenty Moves Into Third  on Lourdes Single Season Charts: Katie McKenty's 289 kills this season currently rank her third on the school's single season kills chart.  The freshman just passed Alex Blazevich (2010) on the list during Friday night's match at Aquinas.  Ali Mass' 372 kills during the inaugural 2010 season is the school record while Brooke Hern had 313 that same season as well to rank second, 24 kills ahead of McKenty.

A Record-Setting Season: Andrea Brown has set a new Lourdes single season blocking record with 61 this year.  She has bettered the old mark of 50 set by both Brooke Hearn and Samantha Stainbrook set during the inaugural 2010 season. 

Balancing Out the Kills: Lourdes had three different players tally 15 or more kills in the victory at Spring Arbor last Wednesday night.  Katie McKenty and Shelby Schuster each registered 16 kills in the match while Katie Bartlett had 15 kills.  For Schuster and Bartlett the kill total marked season highs.

Miller and McKenty Record Double-Doubles: Katie McKenty and Shauna Miller both tallied double doubles in the victory against the Cougars last Wednesday.  McKenty had 16 kills and 14 digs for her seventh double-double of the year.  Shauna Miller handed out a season-high 46 assists and  had 13 digs for her first double-double of the season.

Jimenez Digs Them Up: Michi Jimenez recorded a season-high 28 digs against Spring Arbor last Wednesday night.  The freshman's total marked the most digs by a Lourdes player this season.  Jimenez now has 294 digs on the year, closing in on becoming the fifth player in program history to reach the 300-dig mark in a year.

Common Opponents: Lourdes is very familiar with both of this week's opponents.  The Gray Wolves have faced Marygrove seven times over the last two years, the most times Lourdes has faced any school in program history, along with Siena Heights.  The Gray Wolves have met Lawrence Tech five times all-time, with this being the third meeting already this year.

McKenty Remains Among Nation's Leader in Kills: Katie McKenty ranks 32nd in all of NAIA with 289 kills on the season (3.57 kills per set).  Her kills per set mark is 42nd best among all players in the nation as well. 

Returning Home: After having played 18 of their first 23 matches of the season away from home, Lourdes will play four of its next six matches in the friendly confines of Tam-o-Shanter beginning on Wednesday night with the  match against Marygrove.

This and That: Michi Jimenez passed the 400-assist mark for the season (403), third most in school history for a single season ... Amelia Horton and Andrea Brown have played all 84 sets thus far this season ... in program history, not one player has previously played every set of a year.