LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Xavier University of Louisiana
survived a first-set deficit Saturday and earned a 25-21, 25-15, 25-22 Gulf Coast
Athletic Conference volleyball victory against Philander Smith.
The Gold Nuggets (11-13, 8-0) won their fourth in a row
overall and the ninth in their last 12 matches. In GCAC regular-season matches,
XULA has won 15 straight and 67 of its last 68.
XULA hit .000 in its first 24 attacks to fall behind 16-11,
then hit .387 thereafter and finished at .279, its third-highest percentage of
the season.
Monet Fontaine had nine kills and hit .400 for XULA,
and
Juliana Tomasoni had eight kills, 11 digs and hit .333.
Adili Rikondja
and
Sarah Pitts-Groce had five kills apiece and combined to hit .500. Kayla
Jones had 10 digs.
Also assisting in the comeback was setter
Tiffany Phillips,
who entered the match when the Nuggets trailed 15-11 and produced 21 assists,
two kills, two blocks and an ace. XULA served seven aces, two apiece
by
Cara Ford and
Taylor Ducros. The Nuggets are 7-0 this season when
Ford serves an ace.
Autumn Trimble had 20 kills and nine digs for
Philander Smith (3-14, 0-8), which has dropped four straight and 11 of its
last 12.
Tomasoni led XULA with five second-set kills
and ended the match with a kill after the Lady Panthers rallied for a
tie at 21. Rikondja's kill broke the tie and put the Nuggets ahead to stay.
The Nuggets will play city and GCAC rival Dillard at 6 p.m.
Thursday in a Dig Pink Match for breast cancer awareness at XULA's Convocation Center. Dillard took sole possession
of second place in the conference Saturday when it won in three at Tougaloo
and SUNO lost in three at Talladega.
NOTES: XULA has won every
set against the GCAC, a program-best 24 in a row, since it dropped the first set
in its opener at Tougaloo . . . The Gold Nuggets are 11-0 all-time
against Philander Smith. They hit .329 in two meetings this
season, 177 points higher than a year ago . . .
XULA is averaging 18.59 digs per set, well above its school-record
17.01 from a year ago.
