MOBILE, Ala. — The Xavier University of Louisiana
women's volleyball team split a pair of matches for the second consecutive day
and finished 2-2 in the season-opening UMobile/Spring Hill Tournament.
The Gold Nuggets on Saturday defeated Southern Wesleyan
23-25, 25-22, 27-25, 19-25, 15-12, then lost 25-19, 14-25, 25-18, 25-21 to Mobile.
Taylor Reuther had 21 kills, which tied her career high,
and 22 digs against Southern Wesleyan. It was the second 20-20 match of Reuther's
career.
Moira Kirk had 15 kills and five blocks, and
Chinedu Echebelem had nine
kills and 17 digs.
Jodi Chatters had 21 digs, and setter
Franziska Pirkl
recorded the sixth career double-double, 43 assists and a career-best 16 digs.
Kirk had four kills and Reuther three in the fifth set
against Southern Wesleyan. The Gold Nuggets won the second set after trailing
17-10. It was the sixth time in the program's six-year history that Xavier won
after losing the first set.
Against Mobile, first-year coach Hannah Lawing said
Xavier played its best defense of the tournament during the second set —
"Our blockers and back row figured out how to play what we had been teaching them.
That's how we dominated that set," Lawing said — but Mobile closed the
third set with an 8-2 run and erased Xavier's 18-15 lead in the fourth.
Reuther and Pirkl also produced double-doubles
against Mobile. Reuther had 13 kills and 14 digs, and Pirkl had 35 assists and
10 digs. Kirk had 11 kills and hit a season-best .417, and Echebelem — in double figures for the
first time this season — produced 10 kills.
Xavier hit a season-best .228 against Mobile, but
the Lady Rams hit .288 and had a 55-46 advantage in kills.
Xavier will play nine more road matches —
four next week in a tournament at the University of St. Thomas in Houston —
before playing its home opener at 1 p.m. on Sept. 14 against Voorhees at the
Convocation Center. Xavier on Friday will play city rival Loyola at 11 a.m. and
St. Thomas at 3 p.m. in Houston.
