SIOUX CITY, Iowa — There was no stage fright for Xavier University of Louisiana in its first volleyball match on the NAIA's biggest stage.
     Eight-ranked Jamestown needed four sets and nearly two hours to defeat the Gold Nuggets 25-18, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17 Tuesday in the NAIA National Championship Presented by Marriott South Sioux City Riverfront.
     XULA (31-7) has two matches remaining in Pool H at Tyson Events Center: 4 p.m. Wednesday against ninth-ranked Columbia (Mo.) and 2 p.m. Thursday against unranked Westmont. The top two teams in each of the eight pools will advance to single-elimination matches Friday.
     After dropping the first two sets, XULA led wire-to-wire in the third set to extend the match. The Gold Nuggets also tied the first set at 9 after trailing 6-1, and they led 14-13 in the second set and 10-8 in the fourth.
     "We had our moments," third-year XULA head coach Pat Kendrick said. "At times we showed we could play well against a veteran team like Jamestown. But we've got to be able to stand in for the long haul. We're not going to get quick, easy points against teams like these."
     Ema Causevic had 11 kills, three aces, three blocks and nine digs for the Gold Nuggets. Kayla Black had 10 kills, two aces, a block and 11 digs, Bria Mayes hit .391 with nine kills and five blocks, and Taylor McGee had seven kills, two blocks and 10 digs.
     Also for XULA, Eva Le Guillou had 21 assists and 12 digs, Tiffany Phillips had 17 assists, Jennifer Torres had 15 digs, and Maya Smith and Vivica Price-Spraggins had four blocks apiece.
     Jamestown (30-4) produced four with double-digit kills: Britta Knudson with 14, Taylor Sabinash with 11 and Ellie Michaletz and Corina Ruud with 10 apiece. Knudson hit .565 in 23 attacks and had a match-high six blocks. Hannah Schiele had a match-high 19 digs.
     Jamestown outhit XULA .259 to .142 and produced advantages of 61-45 in kills and 77-62 in digs. XULA led 8-6 in aces and 11-7 in blocks.
     Westmont followed the XULA-Jamestown match with a 25-21, 25-21, 25-22 upset of Columbia and limited the Cougars to .092 hitting, more than 150 points less than their season percentage.
     This is XULA's ninth appearance and ninth in a row in the NAIA national tournament. But it's the Gold Nuggets' first final-site appearance after eight consecutive opening-round losses.
     "Everybody's good up here," Kendrick said. "We have to be able to ground it out to get points, look for opportunities when we have them, and make some opportunities when we can."