TOUGALOO, Miss. — Xavier University of Louisiana volleyball is on the brink of a 10th consecutive Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championship after winning twice Friday.
        XULA — 14-4 overall and 10-0 in the GCAC — took sole possession of first place after winning 25-13, 25-5, 25-12 against Tougaloo, then 30-28, 25-19, 25-13 against city rival Dillard. XULA can win the title outright if it defeats Dillard (13-5, 9-1) in a 1 p.m. match Saturday or if Dillard loses its 11 a.m. match against Tougaloo.
        XULA will play Tougaloo at 3 p.m.
        "We wanted to play clean," XULA head coach Pat Kendrick said. "We knew Dillard and Tougaloo were going to be ready to compete. We kept to the game plan, and we finished strongly."
        The poster child for finishing strongly was freshman Kennedy Wade, whose four late kills helped XULA escape from two first-set points against Dillard. XULA, which led 12-7 and 23-19, finally advanced on Maya Smith's set-clinching kill.
        In the third set a Kayla Black backrow kill gave XULA a 23-13 lead, then two Dillard errors ended the match. XULA ended Dillard's 12-match win streak and scored its 25th consecutive victory against the Lady Bleu Devils.
        XULA's win streak in GCAC regular-season matches is 51. XULA is 53-15 on the road — 29-7 on opponents' courts — during Kendrick's four seasons.