LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Xavier University of Louisiana played exceptional defense and spread the wealth Saturday in a 25-5, 25-9, 25-9 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference volleyball victory against Philander Smith.
     The Gold Nuggets (12-4, 3-0), extended their season-best win streak to six matches. They'll stay on the road and play GCAC newcomer Rust at 6 p.m. Monday in Holly Springs, Miss.
     For the third time in XULA history and the first time in four years, the Gold Nuggets allowed single-digit points in each set of a 3-sets-to-0 victory. They limited the Lady Panthers (2-8, 1-4) to a minus-.133 hitting percentage, the lowest by a XULA opponent in three years. It was the second straight match that a XULA opponent finished with more attack errors than kills.
     XULA hit a season-best .446 and had seven players with three-or-more kills. Marine Angely had seven kills and hit a career-best .545, Vivica Price-Spraggins had six kills and hit .857, and Adili Rikondja had six kills and hit .400.
     Nine Gold Nuggets combined for a season-high-tying 14 aces. Taylor Ducros served a career-high-tying three aces, and Mycah Boland, Elena Duru and Beatrice Formilan served two apiece. Boland, a transfer from city rival Loyola, and Duru, a freshman, recorded the first aces of their XULA careers.
     Chelsea Fagan had five kills for Philander Smith, which dropped its fourth in a row and lost for the 32nd time in its last 33 GCAC matches.