Sunday, October 28, 2012

XU Gold Nuggets win 18th straight in GCAC regular season




NEW ORLEANS — Taylor Reuther had 10 kills, six aces and six digs and hit .500 Saturday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-11, 25-9, 25-11 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's volleyball victory against Talladega at The Barn.

The Gold Nuggets (15-6 overall, 8-0 GCAC) won for the 10th time in 12 matches and pushed their all-time home record above .500 for the first time in the program's five-year history. Xavier is 25-24 at The Barn, 12-4 since the start of the 2011 season.

Xavier has won 18 consecutive GCAC regular-season matches since the start of 2011. The Nuggets can clinch a second consecutive GCAC regular-season championship with a victory at home Thursday against city rival SUNO.

Reuther produced kills on each of her first seven attacks and hit .500 or better for the sixth time this season. She reached double-figure kills for the fourth consecutive match and the 12th time this season, both team bests. Reuther, the NAIA's second-ranked server, had six aces for the second consecutive match.

Kerris Crier, Chinedu Echebelem and Jodi Hill had four kills apiece for Xavier. Jodi Chatters had 12 digs — her fourth consecutive match in double figures — and Echebelem had eight.

Talladega (18-11, 5-3) lost in conference for the second time in three days.
Crier recorded all her kills, plus three blocks, during a 17-1 first-set run which erased Talladega's 7-6 lead. It was the Lady Tornadoes' final lead of the match.

All 13 available Nuggets played. Crier and Moira Kirk started but did not play after the first set. Kirk, the Nuggets' best blocker, had two kills and two aces, but her streak of 40 consecutive matches with a block ended.

Xavier's next match will start at 7 p.m. Monday against Belhaven at The Barn. The Nuggets will play four times next week to close the regular season, then travel to Little Rock, Ark., for the GCAC Tournament the following week.

Box score

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS
GCACSPORTS

No comments: