SYLVANIA, Ohio - The Madonna University volleyball team struggled to find an offensive rhythm inside the Russel J. Ebeid Recreation Center on Wednesday evening in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-20) loss to Lourdes University. 

The Crusaders fall to 12-5 overall and 4-1 in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference while the Gray Wolves improve to 6-6 on the year and 3-2 in league play. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Lourdes scored the first two points of the match before Madonna scored four straight on kills from Erica LaBaere and DJ Sargent as well as a service ace from Olivia Sweeney. Unfortunately for the Crusaders, the offense struggled the rest of the set as MU hit .088 and the Gray Wolves used several multi-point runs en route to a 25-17 win in set one.
• It was a see-saw second set as the teams traded side-outs for the majority of the game, but it was the home team that scored five of the final six points for the 25-22 win.
• The Blue and Gold answered a 5-2 Lourdes run with five straight points for an early lead, but a 17-5 rub by the Gray Wolves gave the Sylvania program a 21-12 lead. Madonna won eight of the next nine to cut the margin to two, but Lourdes won the final three points for the match win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• .087-.223: Led by four from Olivia Sweeney and three from Cook, the Crusaders tallied 10 service aces in the match
• 10+: A trio of Crusaders tallied 10-plus digs in Sweeney (15), Jordyn Dawson (10), and Jodie Kelly (10)
• 49-30: Lourdes totaled 49 kills in the match to MU's 30
• 47-26: They Gray Wolves also tallied 27 assists while Madonna had 26
• 3: For just the third time in the last 52 matches, the Crusaders were held to an attack percentage below .100

JERRY'S WORLD

• "We did not play well. We did not play fast enough and didn't control the tempo. Lourdes played excellent and executed on all cylinders. Hopefully, we learn from this and make the necessary improvements to prepare for Friday's match." - Head Coach Jerry Abraham on the loss

UP NEXT

• The Crusaders return to the court on Friday, Sept. 27 for a homecoming contest with the University of Northwestern Ohio with the first serve set for 7 p.m. inside the MU Activities Center. 

CONNECT WITH THE CRUSADERS: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
SUBSCRIBE/DOWNLOAD TEAM SCHEDULES: Download Center
DOWNLOAD THE NEW MOBILE APP: Google Play | iOS