Box Score NEW ORLEANS —
Moira Kirk had 10 kills, and Jodi
Hill had career bests of nine kills and an .818 hitting percentage Monday to
lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-17, 25-15, 25-16 Gulf Coast
Athletic Conference women's volleyball victory against SUNO.
The Gold Nuggets (18-7, 7-0) extended a a school record
with their 12th consecutive victory. They've won 10 in a row at home —
all six in their first season at the Convocation Center —
and 29 consecutive GCAC regular-season matches.
Delores Tyler had 11 kills for SUNO (13-10, 9-2),
which has dropped eight straight to Xavier over three seasons. The Lady Knights
have won 18 of their last 22 conference matches, but all the losses are to Xavier.
Xavier trailed 5-1, 12-7 and 15-11 before winning the first
set with a 14-2 run which included six SUNO attack errors. Kirk's ace tied the
score at 15, and two consecutive SUNO attack errors put Xavier ahead to stay.
The Gold Nuggets closed the second set with a 16-5 run and
scored the final five points of the match, which ended after
Taylor Reuther's block of a SUNO attack.
Hill had six kills in as many attempts during the second set.
Her match hitting percentage is the second highest by an XU player with 10 or more
attacks since the program resumed in 2010.
CeCe Williams had 17 kills against the Lady Knights for the
second time this season. Williams produced nine digs in the opening set. Claudia
Haywood had eight kills and four blocks, and setter
Franziska Pirkl hit .571 in
seven attempts with four kills, 30 assists, five digs and two blocks.
Kirk produced double figures in kills for the fifth time in six matches and the 38th time in her career.
Xavier outhit SUNO .368 to .046 and had advantages of
42-28 in kills, 49-38 in digs and 6-2 in blocks. SUNO had a 6-3 advantage in
aces but recorded eight service errors, twice as many as the Nuggets. The
Lady Knights committed 37 errors, nearly twice as many as Xavier's 19.
Including GCAC Tournament matches, the Gold Nuggets
have won 35 in a row against conference opponents. SUNO was the last GCAC
team to beat Xavier; that occurred in the 2010 tournament semifinals.
Xavier's next match will start at 7 p.m. Wednesday against GCAC
opponent Tougaloo at the Convocation Center.