BRUNSWICK, Ga. — It was an equal-opportunity victory for Xavier University of Louisiana's volleyball team in its first of two matches Saturday during the Mariner Invitational.
     Eight Gold Nuggets had four or more kills, and 10 had three or more digs to help Xavier earn its first victory in three tournament matches — 25-16, 25-21, 8-25, 25-21 against Martin Methodist.
     Xavier (3-4) will play its final match at 5 p.m. EDT against Bryan.
     Freshman Ruby Hunt-Thompson led Xavier with 11 kills and reached double figures for the second time in the tournament and the third time this season. But there were a slew of other contributors, not all coming from the Nuggets' experienced senior class.
     Junior Ralitsa Hadzhistoyanova had career highs of 32 assists and 10 digs in her first XU double-double. Sophomore Jada Broussard had four kills, a career-high-tying five digs and her first ace of the season. And sophomore Aliyah Wilson had career highs of four kills and two blocks in the second set and sparked a 7-0 closing rally.
     "I had a good warmup," said Wilson, a walk-on who had two career kills and two blocks prior to the match. "I had to be on my toes. I was ready."
     It was the first match this season where coach Hannah Lawing used all 14 players. "That wasn't the plan going in," Lawing said, "but the way we started, we were able to hold momentum and make as many subs as we wanted."
     An early 11-1 run keyed the first-set victory, but it never was that easy for the Nuggets again. Xavier trailed by at least three points in each of the final three sets and rallied from a 15-12 deficit in the fourth. The Nuggets, a four-time defending champion in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, uncharacteristically trailed 18-2 in the third.
     But the Nuggets endured and scored their first victory in four tries against Martin Methodist (0-8). It was the teams' first meeting since 2010.
     What mattered most to Lawing "was that we successfully ran a 6-2 offense," with starter Franziska Pirkl sharing the setting with Hadzhistoyanova. Pirkl had 10 assists but ended the match with a powerful kill from the right side.
     Taylor Reuther and Claudia Haywood had nine kills apiece. Darian Harris had 18 digs and reached double figures for the sixth time this season.
     Belen Albertos Asencio had 10 kills and eight digs for Martin Methodist, and Domynique Kloss had four of the RedHawks' nine aces. Xavier tied a season high with seven aces, two apiece by Hadzhistoyanova and Harris.
     Xavier hit a season-high .227 and had a season-high six blocks, three by Haywood.