Gold Nuggets ease past Lady Tigers in GCAC opener

Box Score NEW ORLEANS — Claudia Haywood had a career-high 11 kills for the second straight match to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-10, 25-13, 25-11 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's volleyball victory against Edward Waters on Friday.
     The Gold Nuggets (2-2 overall, 1-0 GCAC) have won 44 consecutive matches against GCAC opponents and 41 in a row against HBCUs.
     Haywood, a junior, reached double figures in kills in consecutive matches for the first time at Xavier. She produced seven kills in the second set and hit a season-best .444 overall in 18 attempts.
     Chinedu Echebelem had nine kills, Jodi Hill eight and CeCe Williams four for the Gold Nuggets. Franziska Pirkl had 16 assists and 13 digs — her second straight double-double and the 14th of her career — and served a season-best four aces.
     Darian Harris had 10 digs for Xavier to reach double figures for the third time in four matches. Hill's seven digs were a career high, as were Ralitsa Hadzhistoyanova's 15 assists.
     Kaylin Davison had three kills and 10 digs for Edward Waters (0-5, 0-1), which has a 10-match losing streak dating to last season.
     The Gold Nuggets never trailed and opened with runs of 6-1 in the first set, 13-3 in the second and 7-1 in the third.
     Xavier outhit Edward Waters .270 to minus-.080 and had advantages of 40-10 in kills, 9-2 in aces and 54-40 in digs. The Gold Nuggets' hitting percentages and aces were season highs.
     Xavier will play Wiley at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Convocation Center.
     NOTES: Xavier leads the series 8-0 . . . The teams also will meet Oct. 26 in Jacksonville, Fla. . . . The victory was the first at home for Xavier this season after losing in its first two attempts . . . Through four matches, Hill leads Xavier with 42 kills. She did not reach 42 kills in 2013 until her 13th match . . . Xavier's home win streak against GCAC opponents in the regular season is 16.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Darian Harris: L/DS; 5' 4"; Junior; Jr.

#5 Ralitsa Slanchev: S; 5' 9"; Sophomore; So.

#7 Jodi Hill: MB; 5' 9"; Junior; Jr.

#8 Franziska Pirkl: S; 5' 9"; Junior; Jr.

#9 CeCe Williams: OH; 5' 6"; Junior; Jr.

#10 Claudia Haywood: MB; 5' 11"; Junior; Jr.

#12 Chinedu Echebelem: OH; 5' 6"; Senior; Sr.

Players Mentioned

#1 Darian Harris
: 5' 4"; Junior; Jr.
: L/DS

#5 Ralitsa Slanchev
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; So.
: S

#7 Jodi Hill
: 5' 9"; Junior; Jr.
: MB

#8 Franziska Pirkl
: 5' 9"; Junior; Jr.
: S

#9 CeCe Williams
: 5' 6"; Junior; Jr.
: OH

#10 Claudia Haywood
: 5' 11"; Junior; Jr.
: MB

#12 Chinedu Echebelem
: 5' 6"; Senior; Sr.
: OH