NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana earned four Gulf Coast Athletic Conference awards, three in volleyball, for Oct. 16-22.
     Lauryn Taylor received her first Hitter of the Week award, Anna Dalla Vecchia was named Defender of the Week for the fifth time, and Eva Le Guillou claimed her second Setter of the Week honor. All three are freshmen.
     Junior Maliya Vaughan was named Runner of the Week in women's cross country after winning the 5,000-meter run at the GCAC Championships in Clinton, Miss. It was Vaughan's first GCAC weekly award.
     Taylor, from the Atlanta suburb of Fairburn, Ga., and a graduate of Booker T. Washingtion High School, hit .379 and averaged 3.11 kills and 0.67 blocks per set in three GCAC road matches, all of which XULA won. Taylor had 11 kills and a .556 hitting percentage, both career highs, at Philander Smith. Then Taylor had 10 kills and hit .450 to help Xavier win at Talladega and clinch a tie for the GCAC regular-season championship.
     Dalla Vecchia, from Vicenza, Italy, averaged 6.44 digs per set and had just one reception error in 51 attempts. She tied the school record for digs in a match — 31 (in three sets) at Tougaloo, and she had 13 digs in the third and final set. Against Talladega she became the third XULA freshman all-time to reach 300 digs.
     Le Guillou, from Velizy-Villacoublay, France, averaged a GCAC-best 7.11 assists per set during her week, and she tied her career high of 25 digs at Talladega. Le Guillou averaged 1.33 digs (12 total) and served two aces.
     Vaughan, from Elk Grove, Calif., and a graduate of West Campus High School, won the GCAC title in 20 minutes, 43.50 seconds and led the Gold Nuggets to their 11th consecutive GCAC team championship. She beat teammate and runner-up Taylor Price, the 2016 GCAC champion, by nearly nine seconds. A year earlier, Vaughan was second to Price and 34 seconds from the lead.
     XULA volleyball (19-2, 11-0) will close its regular season this week with a pair of 6 p.m. matches at city rivals — Tuesday against Loyola (non-conference), then Thursday at Dillard (GCAC). The GCAC Tournament will be Nov. 10-11, but no announcement has been made about the venue.
     Next for XULA women's cross country will be the NAIA National Championships Nov. 18 at Vancouver, Wash. The Gold Nuggets qualified automatically by winning the GCAC team title.