JACKSON, Miss. — Taylor Reuther had 21 kills, a career high, and 20 digs Saturday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-23, 25-18, 13-25, 25-23 women's volleyball victory against Belhaven in the championship match of the Belhaven Tournament.
        The Gold Nuggets (5-2) were 4-0 in the event — including a 25-16, 25-13, 25-10 victory against Rust earlier in the day — and won a regular-season tournament for the first time in the program's five seasons.
        Xavier rallied from deficits of 22-21 in the first set and 22-20 in the fourth to end a five-match losing streak against the Blazers and beat Belhaven on its court for the first time. Xavier had four previous losses at Belhaven, including a five-set decision in the 2011 season opener.
        Reuther produced the first 20-kill, 20-dig performance by a Gold Nugget since Xavier resumed intercollegiate competition in 2010. She was one of four with double-figure digs — Darian Harris had 20, and Chinedu Echebelem and Franziska Pirkl had 10 apiece — and Pirkl, with 34 assists, also had a double-double. Echebelem had eight kills, and Moira Kirk had five kills, four blocks and two aces.
        It was the second time this season that Reuther and Harris each had 20 digs in the same match.
        Reuther had a kill and an ace, then Kirk produced a solo block and a match-clinching kill in the final six rallies. Belhaven (5-2) aided the Nuggets with 15 fourth-set errors.
        CeCe Williams' kill put Xavier ahead to stay in the opening set, and Echebelem ended it with a kill. Xavier raced to a 13-5 lead in the second set on Kirk's back-to-back aces and three Reuther kills.
        Xavier finished with 43 kills. Thirty of them occurred in the first two sets, when the Nuggets hit .309. Xavier hit minus-.052 over the final two sets.
        Xavier will play its home opener at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Spring Hill — a 40-match winner a year ago — at The Barn. Xavier will play host to Belhaven on Oct. 29.