NEW ORLEANS — Juliana Tomasoni had 13 kills, 14 digs and seven aces Friday to lead top-seeded Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-18, 25-23, 25-18 volleyball victory at fifth-seeded SUNO in the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.
     The Gold Nuggets (22-2), who won their 12th straight, will play second-seeded Dillard at 11 a.m. Saturday for the championship at SUNO. Admission will be free. Dillard beat third-seeded Tougaloo 26-24, 25-23, 25-19 in the other semifinal. XULA seeks a seventh consecutive GCAC Tournament title.
     Tomasoni served six straight aces during a 9-0 run to begin the third set. Her total aces are a XULA conference-tournament match record. The double-double was her 14th this season.
     "Jules is a great setter," first-year XULA coach Pat Kendrick said of the two-time first-team All-GCAC player. "We give her a zone to serve to, and she serves it there. Her serves put pressure on the passers. She had the hot hand today. It was good to get a lot of balls to her."
     Tomasoni has 55 aces this season. She's the first Gold Nugget to reach 50 since Taylor Reuther in 2012.
     Also producing a double-double for XULA was freshman setter Eva Le Guillou, who had 20 assists and 10 digs.
     XULA trailed 21-20 in the second set before getting back-to-back kills from Kayla Black, then another kill by Tiffany Phillips to put the Nuggets ahead to stay. Lauryn Taylor and Vivica Price-Spraggins closed the set with a block of Sonja Backovic.
     "We started slowly," Kendrick said, "or perhaps SUNO started fast. SUNO played earlier in the day, so they were competitively awake. But it was good to see us pick it up."
     Black had eight kills, seven digs and two blocks for the Gold Nuggets. Adili Rikondja had seven kills and three blocks. Price-Spraggins had five kills and five blocks, and Anna Dalla Vecchia had 17 kills and five assists.
     Backovic had 13 kills for SUNO (7-20), and Tyjah Greenup had seven kills and nine digs. Marija Stojiljkovic had 24 assists, 11 digs and two aces, and Dominique Kassim had six blocks.
     XULA outhit SUNO .169 to .100 and had advantages of 38-29 in kills and 10-3 in aces. XULA defeated SUNO in the tournament for the seventh consecutive year and the second straight season in the semifinals.
     It will be the first time that XULA and Dillard meet in a GCAC volleyball final and their first postseason meeting since 2012. The Nuggets are 2-0 this season against the Lady Bleu Devils; they won 25-15, 25-17, 25-8 Sept. 28 at XULA and 25-6, 25-17, 25-13 Nov. 2 at Dillard. The winner of Saturday's match will earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship, which will begin Nov. 18.