NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana capped a memorable day of volleyball with a 25-13, 25-10, 25-10 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference victory against Tougaloo at the Convocation Center. Highlights included:
     •  The Gold Nuggets (22-5, 11-0) clinched a tie for the GCAC regular-season championship. They'll win it outright if they defeat Rust at 1 p.m. Nov. 2 at Dillard's Dent Hall.
     •  Kayla Black ended the match with her 1,000th career kill. She's the second Gold Nugget to reach 1,000.
     •  During a prematch ceremony, members of the 2018 GCAC championship team received rings.
     •  XULA hit .547, their third highest ever in a match and best ever at home.
     The Gold Nuggets caught a break when Edward Waters defeated Philander Smith in five sets at Talladega, Ala., giving the Lady Panthers their fourth conference loss and eliminating from the GCAC race. Only Dillard, which beat Tougaloo and SUNO at XULA Saturday, can catch the Gold Nuggets — but it would only be a share of the title if Dillard ran the table and the Gold Nuggets dropped their final three matches.
     XULA hit better than .500 in both Saturday matches. The Gold Nuggets hit .517 in a sweep of SUNO.
     "The work we've done in practice to clean up our game — have a consistent level of play, cut down on unforced errors — showed this weekend," XULA head coach Pat Kendrick said. "Congrats to Kayla. She's having another outstanding year. The best is yet to come."
     Next for XULA will be non-conference matches next Saturday in Hattiesburg, Miss. — 2 p.m. against Bethel (Tenn.) and 5 p.m. against host William Carey.