NEW ORLEANS — Top-seeded Xavier University of Louisiana and eighth-seeded Rust will be the opening match of the 2019 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference volleyball tournament at 9 a.m. Friday in XULA's Convocation Center.
     The Convocation Center will be the site of four quarterfinal (first-round) matches and two semifinals Friday and the championship match at 2 p.m. Saturday. Admission will be free both days.
     A XULA victory against Rust would advance the Gold Nuggets to the first Friday semifinal at 5 p.m. against fourth-seeded Edward Waters or fifth-seeded Philander Smith.
     XULA (27-5, 14-0) won the GCAC regular-season championship for the ninth consecutive year and the eighth time outright. The Gold Nuggets seek a ninth consecutive GCAC Tournament title and automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship tournament.
     The other quarterfinal matches — in order, Edward Waters vs. Philander Smith, second-seeded Dillard vs. seventh-seeded SUNO and third-seeded Talladega vs. sixth-seeded Tougaloo — will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the previous match. The exception will be after Edward Waters-Philander Smith, when a brief ceremony will honor GCAC end-of-season award winners around midday. The 30-minute countdown before Dillard vs. SUNO will begin after the awards.
     XULA defeated second-seeded Tougaloo 25-3, 25-12, 25-11 in the 2018 GCAC tournament final at SUNO. This is the seventh consecutive year of a single-elimination format for this event.
     XULA statistical leaders include Kayla Black with 397 kills and 462.5 points, Vivica Price-Spraggins and Zora Barnett with a .319 hitting percentage, Eva Le Guillou with 939 assists, Ema Causevic with 52 aces, Jennifer Torres with 370 digs and Price-Spraggins with 98 blocks.